Life Back at Hogwarts
by gracie5412
Summary: Hermione's teaching in Hogwarts along with some of her classmates. What happens when people from her past come back? How will she cope with the feelings coming back to her? And whats with the new staff member? COMPLETE
1. An Offer She Can't Refuse

**Chapter 1: An Offer She Can't Refuse.

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Hermione was sat at her desk listening to her co-worker, Joe, drone on and on about some Quidditch game or other he had been to that weekend, not that she didn't like Quidditch or anything it was just a slightly sore subject that brought up one too many memories that she would rather not think about.

She was head of her department, transfiguration and charms. It had been her number one choice when she left Hogwarts and she had taken the first job she could and slowly made her way to the top but now, years later, she was bored with it all. She sighed and leaned back into the blue, under-padded office chair, massaging her temples wishing Joe would get the point and bugger off. He didn't. In fact she tried to remember last time he had even taken a breath while explaining what ever Quidditch move he was now on about, she could remember, it must have been quite a while ago. She looked across at him sat by her, he was in his late twenties like her and held similar interests, she could even go as far as saying he was quite good looking if she pushed and he had asked her out on countless occasions but she had always turned him down. He was just way too BORING, just like everything else in this bloody place, she thought to herself as she checked the clock again. Only an hour to go till the end of the day and then it's the weekend!

The hour dragged on but finally the clock hand pulled itself round to five and she smiled as she packed up her stuff and apperated back home to her apartment. With a loud crack she landed on the sofa aside her roommate Tom

"God I hate it when you do that!" Tom wailed clutching his chest "You always give me a heart attack just poping up."

"You're just sore 'cuz you never passed the test." She laughed giving him a hug before kicking off her shoes and sinking back into the leather of the sofa and closing her eyes. "Tom go get me a coffee I had a hard day."

"You always have a hard day Hermione." He countered, but got up and walked into the kitchen anyway. "I don't see way you don't just quit." He called over the sound of the kettle boiling.

"What and you expect what you get paid to pay the rent and buy all the shopping for us both? No chance." She yelled back.

"Well I lived off it with loads to spare and I usually pay the rent and buy the shopping anyway the only thing you spent your wages on is shoes and clothes." He said and he brought two cups of steaming coffee into the living room setting them down on the coffee table. "So what we having for tea?" he asked as he flips through the TV channels.

"Well I don't know what your gonna have but I've been invited to Harry and Ginny's for tea tonight. We're celebrating James stating Hogwarts next week."

"Ha!He should have gone to Durmstrang like me, then he would have been a real wizard."

"Up his own arse like you more like" she teased. The two of them always argued about which school was better.

"I suppose I'll phone Emma and see if she want to come round and we'll order in a pizza." He sighed.

"God you don't need to make it sound like such hard work she is your girlfriend and all." Hermione laughed as she drank her coffee and walked into her room to take a shower.

A few minutes later she stepped out if the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her. She dried her hair before pulling on her jeans and a dark red ruffled top. She walked back into the living room to see Tom lay out on the sofa snoring lightly.

"Oi" She yelled down his ear making him jump up in shock. "I'm going now I'll probably be back late so don't wait up." She gave him a kiss on the cheek before apperating to outside Harry and Ginny's front door. She knocked and waited for a minute before the door was opened and a pair of nine year old arms wrapped themselves tightly round her waist.

"Ok Lily I do need to breath from time to time." She gasped but with a smile on her face.

"Oh sorry Aunt Hermione come in, Dad and James won't let me play on the playstation with them, they say girls can't play."

"Well I say we teach them a lesson or two about that." She says following Lily through into the living room where Harry and James were sat with their eyes glued to the screen.

"Hi Harry, I hear you're feeding this girl lies." Hermione says as she squeezes herself between the two of them

"Oh and what's that then?" Harry asks eyes still not leaving the screen.

"That us girls can't play playstation well I think it's about time we prove you wrong."

"Ok you're on."

They spend the next hour or so battling it out on a wrestling game and Harry and James loose horrendously. Hermione and Lily jump up and start a victory dance. They were still doing it when Ginny walks in. She stands at the doorway watching her best friend and daughter for a minute or two before speaking.

"If you people want to be fed then you will come now and you better, I've been slaving over this meal all day. James, Lily go clean up and come and sit at the table." James and Lily groan and walk out the door to the bathroom.

"So Hermione you heard from Dumbledore yet?" Ginny asks.

"No why should I have?" Hermione asks as she sits down at the table in the dinning room.

"Oh no reason, just something he said at the last governors meeting don't pay attention to me I shouldn't have said anything." Ginny says quickly trying to cover up the information she shouldn't have said. Luckily Hermione dropped the subject as James came back in and starts asking her about her time at Hogwarts.

Around 1:30 Hermione apperated back into her room and fell to sleep. The next morning she got up to find the flat empty. She walked out into the kitchen and spots a note pinned to the fridge

_Hermione_

_Gone to Emma's for the night, an owl came for you quite late last night from some guy called Dumbledore mean anything to you? It was marked urgent so read it A.S.A.P. speak to you later_

_Tom._

She takes the letter from Dumbledore that's pinned underneath it and opens the seal.

_Dear Miss Granger,_

_It has been a long time since I have heard from you and I'm glad that this time it is on better reasons. I'm not sure if you know or not but Professor McGonagall retired the end of last year and I have yet to find her replacement. I have heard from Mrs Potter that you are rather keen on the subject and I want to offer you the job. I am aware you already have a job and please feel free to decline but I ask you to please owl me you answer by Tuesday night at the latest._

_Yours sincerely_

_Albus Dumbledore._

Hermione gasped at the letter. Her working at Hogwarts? Could she do that?

"So this was what Ginny was talking about." She muttered to herself before apperating over there. She knocks on the door and Ginny answers.

"Hey Hermione I wasn't expecting to see you so soon, what's up?"

"You could have told me what you meant you know" She says handing the letter over to Ginny.

"So you're gonna take it right?" she asks when she's read through it. "Dumbledore really wants you for the job he thinks you'd be best as you'd identify with the kidseven though it has been a whole thirteenyears since you left."

"I don't know-" Hermione starts but Harry interrupts her as he come out into the hall.

"Well it's not like you enjoy your job now, you'd find this so much more interesting."

"Yeh I suppose you're right. Yeh I'm gonna take it."

"Excellent now I have someone to check up on James for me, Fred and George keep on trying to give him the products to test out on the kids!" Ginny exclaimed. Hermione laughed before saying goodbye and going back to her flat. When she got back she wrote a quick note to Dumbledore accepting the job and a letter to her work to quit.

Tom came home later that night looking rather sheepish.

"Erm Hermione? I have something to tell you"

"Oh me too! But you go first."

"Ok well me and Emma have decided to move in together. But the thing is, erm well this is technically my flat and as Emma lives in someone else's house I said she could move in here but that would mean she would have your room-"

"You're asking me to move out?" Hermione fills in for him

"Er yeh" he said not looking at her and feeling very guilty.

"Oh that's great!" Hermione exclaimed with a laugh.

"What? Oh so nice I mean I knew you hated me and all but do you need to make it that obvious!" Tom laughed feeling very relieved. "But why is that so great?"

"Well I didn't know how to tell you but I got a job at Hogwarts so I'm moving out. I'm going on Monday!"


	2. New Arrivals and Old Faces

**Chapter 2- New Arrivals and Old Faces**

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**Disclaimer**: Am I J.K Rowling? No, not last time I checked so we can guess that I don't own Harry Potter or any of the other characters.

**Harry kid **and **Shadieladie **thank you so much for reviewing  
**Nattieb **you're right it would have been hard. So **everyone I've changed it they have been out of Hogwarts thirteen years now.  
**And  
**Tuxedo cat **thank you for reviewing and offering to be my beta

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Monday evening rolled on after a weekend of packing and Hermione said a tearful goodbye to Tom, Harry and Ginny before apperating to outside the Hogwarts gates. Dumbledore was waiting for her there already and opened them for her to come inside the grounds. They walked along the grounds up to the castle with Hermione's cases floating steadily behind them.

"Well Miss Granger I'm very pleased you decided to take the job as most of the students will most likely be. I'm sure you'll be wanting to get to bed and unpack now so I'll leave introducing you to the staff until tomorrow if that's ok with you?"

"Yeh, sure, that's fine."

"Very well, so if you'll follow me I'll show you to your room."

They walked for a few minutes until they came to a door. Dumbledore stopped and opened it, stepping back to allow Hermione to go inside. It was a rather large room with a bathroom adjoining. The four-poster bed was covered in dark blue silk sheets, a dark wood desk sat under the window and a wardrobe in the same wood stood against the side wall with a full length mirror beside it. The fire was lit giving the room the faint smell of pine needles. Hermione crossed the room and look out of the window seeing that her view was of the Quidditch pitch.

"Wow this is the most amazing room I've been in for quite a while." She grinned across to Dumbledore.

"Well it's all yours now Miss Granger. Sleep well and I'll see you at breakfast." He said as the exited the room closing the door behind him. Hermione stayed at the window for a moment longer before opening the door to the bathroom. The floors and walls were covered in white tiles and the shower was in the furthest corner next to the sink. There was a bath much like the one in the prefects' bathroom and another full-length mirror. She was glad to see that there were no portraits in this room as that had always slightly creped her out having someone watch and talk to her while she was in the bathroom.

The next morning Hermione woke up and pulled on an old pair of plain black robes before doing her hair and going down to breakfast. She thought it very strange to see the hall without any children, as they wouldn't be coming until that evening. She walked over to the staff table and sat down watching as food appeared in front of her. She smiled as Dumbledore came in and sat beside her.

"Good morning Miss Granger. I trust you slept well?"

"Good morning Professor, yes thank you, like a log. I was thinking, erm, my lessons? I haven't got anything planed?"

"Oh don't worry about that Professor McGonagall left a lesson plan for every class you'll teach this year, they're in your desk in the classroom but do feel free to tweak them to your style when you read through them."

"Great. In fact I suppose I should go and do that now, stop me worrying about it later and all that."

"Very well Miss Granger, would you like me to send a house elf with your lunch later on?"

"Oh no! It's ok I'll be here for lunch I want to see the other professors and everything." Hermione said shaking her head as she left. She still felt the same when it came to house elves.

She hummed to herself as she walked along the hallway to her classroom. Yes _her _classroom. It still felt very strange to her. She was in her own world so she didn't see the figure hurrying towards her rooting through his bag. They collided sending papers everywhere.

"Oh god I'm so sorry!" Hermione wailed as she got up off the floor and started to pick up the papers. She looked at one to see it was a lesson plan for Herbology. She looked up at the Professor to gain quite a shock

"Neville? Y-you're a Professor?"

"Hermione? You are too?"

"Yeh I start this year. How long have you been teaching?"

"Erm this is my fifth year."

"Wow it's great to see you!"

"You too, so haveyou looked around since you've been back?"

"No I haven't had the chance yet."

"Well then I must show you." He said bending down to pick up the last of the papers.

"Great thanks Neville." Hermione said and they walked down the hallway together.

An hour later they returned to where they had first bumped in to each other and said goodbye. Hermione finally got to her classroom and took out the lesson plans. After an hour of skimming through them and making small changes to parts she disliked she got extremely bored and went for a walk. She pulled on her cloak and stepped outside. It was sunny but the heat was ruined due to how windy it was.

"Fist years are going to have trouble crossing the lake aren't they?" Came a voice behind her making her jump and whirl around. She looked at the figure stood in front of her. Tall, blonde with the trademark smirk that for once actually held warmth. It was none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Malfoy? What are you doing here?"

"Enjoying the views."

"No at Hogwarts." Hermione said with a sigh.

"Oh didn't Longbottom tell you, I'm the potions teacher."

"What?" She gasped.

"Potions. You know the thing with the cauldrons, classroom located down in the dungeons. Ring a bell?"

"Yes, yes, shut up you know I didn't mean that I mean I'm shocked that _you_ teach it."

"Why, who was better at potions than me. In fact Snape personally requested that I would be his replacement." He grinned glowing with pride.

"I see you haven't changed much then Malfoy." Hermione smirked.

"But you have, look at you Granger all grown up." Draco said giving her the once over, she could feel herself blushing.

"Well of course I've grown up stupid it had been thirteen years hasn't it?" she snapped walking back towards the castle. Much to her annoyance Draco followed.

"What Malfoy?"

"Well the thing is Granger I think we need to put all those petty squabbles from school behind us seeing as how we will be working together for who knows how long. Clean slate?" his eyes bore into her with a pleading expression, she finally gave in.

"Fine, but one mention of any bloodline to me and I will blast your ass off the top of the astronomy tower." She threatened.

"I'll consider myself well warned then." He chuckled. "Walk you to lunch?"

She considered this for a minute. "Sure."

Hermione walked round the castle that evening watching as the house elves made last minute arrangements of flowers and such. The students would be arriving any minute they had just been told the train had pulled in. Hermione pulled on a black cloak with a crimson lining and walked down to the great hall. She sat between Neville and Draco saying hello to the other Professors as she walked past.

The hall filled with students and the sorting began.

Ellwood, Stacey became Hufflepuff followed by Plant Robert going into Ravenclaw. Hermione started to drift off until it came to one name.

"Malfoy, Leon." She snapped back into reality to watch the hat being placed on his head. After a few minutes the hat finally made it's decision "Gryffindor!"

"You have a son?" Hermione hissed across the table to Draco

"Oh yes, but no I'm not married, his mother died a short while after giving birth to him."

"So how do you feel about him going into Gryffindor?"

"Not so bad, his mother was in that house so it will live on her memory."

"Potter, James" was called and Hermione paid attention as her godson was sorted into Gryffindor.


	3. A Teacher Down Already

**Chapter 3 –A Teacher Down Already

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Disclaimer: if I owned Harry Potter I wouldn't be writing on here, I'd be sending my story to an agent to publish it. As I am not we can guess that I don't own H.P

**Bhekie – **nah you're not reading to much into it for this one I did think of the name because of that.  
**RainPoet **– Harry may not say girls can't play playstation but James may say things like that as he is only 11 and doesn't know how great us girls are at it. And as Harry had a muggle upbringing for a while he could have liked that stuff now he's away from Dudley and had the chance to have a go (but good points all the same, I just kinda put it in as a story filler around the actual info to be honest). And don't worry he'll be in it soon I just need to put in his reason for being there and so on. Oh and yes you will find out who Draco was married to sometime in the story.  
**Shadieladie **and **nattieb **– thanks for reviewing again you two! Yeh you'll find out who he marries soon.  
**FishAndMenCanLiveTogether **– hey loz! Thanks for reviewing. See you at school. (And no I won't tell you what going to happen before everybody else just cause you see me at school so don't ask).  
**Harry Kid **– good idea, but I'm not sure if it would work or not yet but I might do something where he comes in to teach a few lessons. I'll see if I can use it.

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The feast ended and the students and teachers went to their beds to get a good nights rest before classes the next morning. Hermione however did not feel in the mood to sleep so instead she hurried along the corridors to the Gryffindor common room to pay a visit on her Godson. She got to the fat lady who was on the verge of sleeping but Hermione tapped on the frame a few times snapping her back to reality.

"Password?" she yawned throwing her dirty looks, obviously not happy to be awoken in such a rude manner.

"Pumpkin juice." Hermione said while smiling sweetly. The fat lady muttered something Hermione couldn't quite make out, as she swung open to reveal the passageway to the Gryffindor tower. She walked through and into the noisy common room. It immediately fell silent when she was noticed which made her laugh.

"Don't worry guys I'm just here to see a friend of mine please carry on with whatever you were doing." Hermione called and looked around for James. She couldn't see him but she spotted Lee and went over to talk to him.

"Well, well, well Mr Weasly what may I ask are you up to?" she boomed from behind him, making him jump about a foot in the air. She laughed as he turned around and he face visibly relaxed when he saw who it was.

"God Hermione I thought you were McGonagall back for more detentions or something! So how are you Professor?"

"I'm good thanks Lee, it's very good to be back you're in fourth year now? I'll have fun teaching you're class. How's you're Dad?"

"He's ok thanks, he working hard on a report for Mr Fudge."

"Is that who Uncle Percy is sucking up to now then?" came a voice from behind them and James came into view from the boy's dormitory stairs.

"He does not suck up!" Lee snapped.

"Well he used to I've heard all the stories from mum and dad. Even Grandma said he did. Tell him Hermione!" James whined.

"I'll do no such thing, I don't think it wise to get into the bad books of any person with Weasly blood running through them. They know some pretty good hexes to cast when they don't go wrong." Hermione chuckled thinking of various times with Fred, George and Ron, sometimes even Ginny, when they got mad and ended up hexing someone, usually Malfoy.

Hermione hung out in the common room for a little while longer having fun with James and Lee and getting to know Leon Malfoy. Him and James had apparently already made friends with each other on the train. When it got late Hermione sent them all to bed and walked back down the corridor to her own room. She made sure she had everything ready for the next day before going to sleep.

The next morning Hermione woke early, before the alarm. And for once she didn't feel completely distraught about going to work, nervous, jittery and just slightly like she was going to throw up, but not distraught. She put the books she hadn't already moved into her classroom and would need that day into her bag before getting into the shower and getting dressed for breakfast. She put on a skintight pair of dark blue jeans and a low cut pale pink v-neck sweater with three quarter length sleeves and pulled a pair of plain black robes over the top. She preferred to wear muggle clothes, but thought it a good idea to set a good impression on the first day. After eating very little breakfast she made her way down the corridor to her classroom. She had the fifth years as her first lesson. Which would be great, as she would have to drill into them the importance of the exams they would take at the end of the year into them and she remembered how much everyone had hated it and how much stress they had had when they had to do exams in their fifth year. She gets out the books she will need and piles them on her desk next to the lesson plan and her added notes. She places the others on a shelf before flicking her wand at a piece of chalk the zooms across and starts writing the work on the board. As she watched the chalk the class off fifteen year olds trooped in and sat at their desk chatting away about their summers.

Hermione waited 'til they were all seated before standing at the front of the class. The class fell silent, or as silent as a class can get.

"Good morning class. I hope you all had a good summer and are back and willing to learn. I'm Professor Granger I'm taking over from Professor McGonagall who retired last year after a long, _long_ time teaching. But you don't want to hear about that you want to get on with learning. As I am new I'm pretty clueless to what your ability levels are so for the first part of the lesson I want you to answer the question on the board. This is just for me so I know what levels you're all on this won't effect your grade in anyway." All the class groaned at the prospect of a test as they got out their quills and parchment and made to put away their wands. "Oh no! You'll need your wands soon I promise and the quicker you do this the quicker you do this lot the quicker you'll be able to do something else." The class took quickly to writing and quiet took over the room, apart from the occasional whisper to the person next to them to find the answer to the question they were on.

Hermione surveyed the room with interest it was practically identical to the way it had been when she had been a student. The Slytherins sat at the back casting dark disapproving glances at the Gryffindors who were all eagerly scribbling down their answers. Hermione gaze fell on one student. A Slytherin, he was sat at the very back with a steely expression on his face. He had not put quill to parchment and made no move to do so. In fact he just starred back at Hermione with sheer indifference, arms folded across his chest.

"So what excuse have you to not do the work I set you?" she shot at him. Some of the class stopped to look round, they knew the boy never did anything, especially for new teachers.

"Oh that's Bedorven Miss he's never does anything." A Gryffindor called from across the room. Hermione went over and picked up the class list she looked down it until she found the name 'Bedorven, Michael.'

"So Michael is it? Well? I asked a question I want an answer." Hermione stood in front of his desk arms folded expectantly. Michael remained silent. Hermione stooped down to his level so she could look him in the eye. He held her glare.

"Listen, you may a Slytherin meaning you can't like any other lesson than potions but I'm assuming you want to do something with your life and as exams are coming up this year I suggest you at least try a little." She spoke slowly to make her point clear before standing up and walking back to the front of the class. "That goes for all of you, I want each and everyone of you to do well and I will try my best to get you through these exams in one piece and hopefully getting no less than As Os if your lucky, but that does mean a little effort from you. I know I get paid to be here but I had to do all this before I did and unless you want to have a really bad job I do suggest that you do something." Hermione felt bad about what she had said to Michael she hadn't meant to pick on him just because he was in Slytherin. But her words had worked as most of the class now buckled down if they hadn't been doing so before. And Hermione turned her attention back to Michael who glared back but after a minute or two pick up his pen and started to write.

"Wow Miss you got Mike to work! You must be bloody good at teaching!" a Slytherin commented.

"Thank you Mr Smith but please watch the language." Hermione smiled feeling happy that she had accomplished something on her first day.

About fifteen minutes later the class finished their written work and Hermione collected in the papers to mark later. She then got out her wand and looked up at the class "Well you've pretty much covered all the things you'll need in your exams in previous years so I'll just be going over and reminding you of the basics and then we can have some fun." She smiled. "Ok well I think by now we can all turn a rat into a cup and a hedgehog into a pin cushion. But who can come up here and show us all." The class laughed at how easy it seemed and everyone put up their hand. Hermione pick someone, a girl in Gryffindor who came up to the front. She waved her wand and said the spell but the mouse transformed into a rather furry cup and the handle still flicked about like a tail.

"See it's not so easy is it? You need to go right back to basics. Can anyone tell me what Miss Parker did wrong?"

A sea of hands went up. "She didn't wave her wand properly!" someone called

"Very good. See in an exam they'll mark you on that too, even if you get lucky and it works all right if you don't hold your wand, wave it and pronounce the words properly they'll take off marks."

The class spent the rest of the lesson going back and practising all the wand movements in pairs as Hermione went round checking they were doing it all properly. The bell went and the class got up to go.

"Mr Bedorven could I have a word with you please, the rest of you may go." Hermione called over the racket. She waited until all the class had gone before looking up at Michael, who was still sat at his desk.

"Go on then Professor, let me have it about how I'm a complete waste of space and I should be kicked out of your class. I've heard it from everyone else so I can't say it does much to change me." He hissed in a voice barely more than a whisper. This took Hermione by surprise, she had thought he had just not cared what people thought but she realised looking down at the boy that he was just scared to put himself out, as that would leave him vulnerable and open for an attack.

"No Michael, I was going to say sorry, I shouldn't have said what I did about you just because you're in Slytherin, I'm afraid I may still hold a grudge or two from when I was at school and also I misjudged you completely, you're a bright young wizard Mike you just need to believe that too." She looked down at him and he looked up, she could see the pain in his eyes but she didn't know why it was there and she wanted to. He broke out of her gaze feeling uncomfortable, everyone always put him down and he had built his barriers to try and block it out, he didn't know how to deal with praise.

"I better go Miss, don't want to be late for my next lesson." He said getting up.

"Oh wait a moment then I'll write you a note so you don't get into trouble for something that was my fault. What lesson have you got now?"

"Herbology."

"Ah Professor Longbottom's a good friend of mine he won't mind a bit if you're a few minutes late." She said as she scribbled down a quick note to Neville before handing it to him with a smile.

"Goodbye Michael." She called behind him. Again he was struck dumb, he didn't know how to take kindness either.

"Goodbye Professor." He whispered as he walked down the corridor.

Hermione spent the rest of the day teaching and finally it was the last lesson and she had it free. She took off her robes and put a coat on over her normal clothes before heading down to the Quidditch pitch where a lesson was going on. She sat in the stands watching the class practise. It was the third year class she had had before lunch. One of the girls spotted her and flew over.

"Professor come and join in!" she called. Hermione laughed and shook her head. Since her first year she had improved on flying and didn't mind it but she was still completely hopeless at Quidditch so she told the class so, as they had now all join the girl to try to convince her to join in.

"Anyway I don't think Madame Hooch is happy with you leaving your lesson go on I'll watch." She called back to them and they all turned and went back to the lesson.

Near the end they got into a game and Hermione had fun cheering them all on. But suddenly the great lesson turned very bad. One boy, quite large for his age, was playing beater and was thrilled when the bludger finally zoomed towards him. He whacked it with all the strength he muster making in hurtle off to the other end of the pitch where Madame Hooch was giving another student a warning for committing another foul. It hit her square in the back making her fall from her broom onto the fairly hard ground below. Hermione gasped as she witnessed this and ran on to the pitch to help. She bent down over the teacher; she was unconscious but still breathing, thank god, although she did seem to have an awful lot of broken bones. Hermione send a student to go and fetch Madame Pomfrey.

Madame Hooch was taken by a stretcher up to the hospital wing to be seen to. She woke up three days later.

The morning after she woke up Dumbledore made an announcement at breakfast.

"Well students I'm sure you all know what happened to Madame Hooch by now and I'm afraid to say that she had decided to give up teaching as she says she is very tired of getting hit round the head with a bludger." At this the boy who had done it blushed deep crimson while the people around him giggled. "This also means that we are without a Quidditch teacher so the lessons will be cancelled until we find a new one." This was met by a loud groan from all the students "But at least you will all have a free lesson to catch up on that homework!" Dumbledore smiled widely while everyone groaned again.

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Thanks for reading guys and everyone who reviewed you are the bestest people in the world! Please continue being so. 


	4. Memories and More New Arrivals

**Chapter 4 – Memories and More New Arrivals.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (sorry too busy in Sims2 land and listening to Greenday, American Idiot to think of anything interesting to say.)

**Bhekie **– yeh I know pretty obvious but I needed some way to get him into the story didn't I?  
**Emma Barrows **– thanks for the reviews and I'm half way through Revelation and it's great!  
**Tracey **– very sorry about not emailing you about the beta reader thing I feel bad about it sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry. (I have now though) but is it ok if u just edit it on here? As I spose that will be easier for both of us as my attachment thingy on my email tends to screw up peoples computers for them which isn't really so good.  
**Harry kid **– thanks very much for the review  
**PaulaS – **I think I've read the story you're talking about, it's good isn't but I had no intention of making this anything like that as I had already started writing this before I came to read it so anything that is the same is just a coincidence.  
**FishAndMenCanLiveTogether - **loz you may ask but my lips will remain sealed you just have to wait and find out like all the other nice people here.

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Weeks passed and before they knew it half term was upon them. A happy prospect for the students, but a sad time for Hermione and all her friends. On the Monday of the holiday she dressed in a knee-length black skirt and a black short-sleeved shirt and slipped on a pair of flat shoes before joining Draco and Neville in a carriage to take them down to Hogsmade. It had been ten years ago to the day that the war had ended and the prophecy fulfilled. Harry had won, only just, and Voldemort was gone for good. It had been hard for them all, some more than others, but still hard. Hermione looked across at Draco, his eyes red with tears, his face paler than usual it was a heartbreaking sight to see. But then that's what had happened, his heart had been broken and he had been left to raise his one-year old son alone.

They got out of the carriage and walked the short distance to the graveyard where a large group of people were stood or sitting. A few minutes later the service started and Dumbledore stood up.

"We are here to day to commemorate those lost in the battle ten years ago. Many of you may have fought along side them and all of you held these people close to your heart. We are here to thank them for giving their lives to save ours. They are both brave and selfless and we love them because of it. I shall now read the names of those lost. Arthur Weasly, Susanne Bones, Hannah Abbott, Lavender Brown-Malfoy, Seamus Finnagan..."

Hermione wiped away the hot tears rolling down her cheek as she listened to the names of some of her best friends being called out. When the list had finished people went to the church hall to gather together while some people went to visit graves. Hermione walked with Draco to Lavender's grave.

"I know some people think I married her jus because I wanted to piss off father, but I really did love her. I changed sides because I didn't feel right and she accepted me without any questions, I loved her so much-" he chocked out as they were walking. He knelt down and placed his and Hermione's flowers on top of the earth mound. He started tracing the lettering on the grave with his fingers, not caring about the tears that fell from his face making the shirt he was wearing wet. Hermione stooped down and hugged him "She was one of my best friends and I know she loved you so much too. We all lost people and we know how you feel so if you ever want to talk just come and find us. You want to be alone for a while?"

Draco nodded and Hermione got up. "Thanks Hermione." He whispered.

Hermione smiled weakly and went to find Harry and Ginny who had just come inside after visiting the graves of their loved ones.

"You guys ok?" Hermione asked pulling them both into tight hugs.

"Yeh we'll be-" Ginny started, but her face froze, mouth hanging slightly open and her green eyes wide. Harry and Hermione frowned wondering what she was doing.

"Gin, you ok?" Harry asked giving her arm a slight squeeze, but still she did not move.

"Is she in shock?" Hermione asked. They heard a small cough from behind them and looked around to see what had made her freeze.

"R-Ron?" Hermione stuttered in a croak whisper. She could believe her eyes; he was back after ten years. Why now? Why hadn't he wrote or let them know he was ok? Why had he left without a word to start with? Hermione pushed all her questions from her mind as she watched Ginny run forward and hug her brother.

"Oh my god where have you been? Are you ok? Why didn't you come back before now? Mum's gonna kill you she been ill you know! Fred and George had to move back in with her and Charlie has spent years searching for you!" Ginny screeched when she pulled away from him. Hermione didn't listen to Ginny's rant though; she was too busy looking at the thirty year old Ron Weasly in front of her. He was taller and his hair was slightly longer, he had a tan and his arms had grown muscular, he looked good. Better than good.

"Hi Hermione." Ron said looking across at her for the first time and smiling, breaking her away from her thoughts and back to reality. She smiled back at him and tears filled her eyes as she stepped forward to envelope herself in his arms. She lay her head on his chest and let out a choked up sob.

"Hey don't cry! Are you that upset to see me?" Ron laughed kissing the top of her head.

"No! Of course not I'm just happy to see you!"

_"RON?"_ Mrs Weasly screamed running towards him as she spotted him from the door. She practically knocked him flat as she hugged him making his face redder than his hair she was squeezing him so tight. "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!" she yelled her face now also turning red. Dumbledore appeared next to her and took hold of her arm.

"Perhaps we should go back to the school and talk about it then?"

The whole Weasly Family plus Hermione and Harry got into a carriage and trundled along the path up to Hogwarts. They got out and walked into the Entrance Hall.

"Shall we all go in to my room?" Hermione suggested and they all followed her up. They walked in and Hermione transformed various cushions into chairs for them all to sit on.

"Well I can see why they got you as a teacher." Ron laughed but no one joined in with him. All their chairs were facing him, making him feel like he was on trial instead of being with his family.

"So where have you been?" Mrs Weasly snapped.

"Travelling."

"Why?"

"I think you know that. It was you're idea I take a break for a while/"

"But for ten years?"

"I needed to figure some things out."

"We could have helped you figure things out! We're your family!" George yelled.

"How? Did any one else here see their father being killed in front of them and be able to do nothing about it! Did anyone else see their two best friends seconds from death? Were you made to spend three weeks with Dementors around you constantly? No? Well then HOW THE HELL COULD YOU HAVE HELPED!" Ron yelled jumping up with such force he knocked the chair straight over. Everyone looked shocked. But Percy found his voice first.

"How do you think it would feel not knowing where your brother is for ten years, not even knowing if he was alive?" he hissed before turning and storming out of the room. Bill and Charlie followed to see if he was ok. Mrs Weasly stood up and hugged her son again. "I'm glad you finally decided to come home. You belong here." She whispered before also walking from the room. Fred and George hugged their little brother and followed her.

Harry and Ginny sat on one chair together and Hermione sprawled out on her bed. Ron paced the room.

"Ron you're gonna wear down my carpet." Hermione laughed.

"Huh? Oh sorry Hermione." He said and sat down on a chair but still fidgeted.

"Ron what's wrong?" Harry asked, all three of them look across at him very worried.

"What? Oh nothing." He said making it quite obvious that there was something wrong.

"Oh come on Ron just tell us."

"No it doesn't matter."

"Fine if you're not going to tell us how about you come and meet you're nephews then?"

"Great!" Ron smiled getting up more than to change the subject. The three of them got up to leave but Harry turned back to Hermione. "You coming too?"

"No I think I'll stay here for a while I'm going to get changed." She said sitting up on her bed. "I'll see you all at dinner ok?"

"Sure." Harry said and he and Ginny walked from the room, Ron stayed a moment longer, his face holding a pained expression before also turning and walking away. Hermione sighed and ran her hands over her hair. To be completely honest she had never really expected Ron to come back and she had come to terms with that. She had mourned and moved on but now he _was _back all the emotions she thought she had gotten rid of were back and more painful than ever.

"Oh god this is going to be _interesting._" She muttered as she pulled on her jeans and a black t-shirt to replace the funeral clothes. She fell back on to her bed sinking into the cushions and covered her face with her hands. She slowly went through all the emotions she was feeling. Sad? A little. Happy? Of course. Shocked? Very, very much so. Scared? Slightly. Angry? Unfortunately yes. But what to do with it all? Burry it all down and go about normal life or confront it all and hope for the best? She moaned in annoyance and pushed herself off the bed. She needed to clear her head. She pulled on a jacket and went outside for a walk.

She walked the edge of the lake and was just about to go back again when she saw a figure zooming around the Quidditch pitch. She frowned, students weren't allowed on the pitch without a member of staff supervising, and since Madame Hooch had gone it had been off limits. She made her way to the entrance and walked onto the pitch, the figure saw her and landed. It was Michael; he walked towards her, sheepishly.

"You do realise this pitch is off limits don't you Michael?" Hermione asked in her best teacher voice.

"I know I'm sorry Professor, I just needed to clear my head and this is the only place I can be alone."

"And why is it you need to be alone?"

"Well you're alone, why do you need to be?"

"Fair point. But in future try being alone somewhere that isn't against school rules ok?" She said and turned to walk away.

"Wait you're not going to tell me off?" Michael asked as he ran after her.

"No, I think you may take this to heart, but if I catch you again then I'll have to give you detention." She smiled at him and continued to walk.

"Professor Granger can I ask you something?" Michael asked as he jogged back up beside her. Hermione stopped and turned to face him.

"Sure go ahead."

"Why is it that you don't just not care about me like all the other teachers, you seem to want me to do well whereas all the others have just given up on me."

Hermione thought for a moment before talking.

"Will you come with me for a moment?" she asked and he nodded. They walked along in silence to Hermione's office. She went over to her desk and sat down, Michael sat on the other side.

"So you ask why it is that I haven't given up on you? Well take a look at this." She said handing him over a piece of paper.

"It's my test paper."

"Yes and look at what grade you got. You're the only student I teach that got full marks. Like I said you're a very bright young wizard and if you believe that you'll get on much better."

"Really?"

"Yes, now piss off I've got better things to do in my half term than talk to whiny students." She joked and looked up to see Michael laughing.

"See you on Wednesday Professor." He called as he walked from the room.

Hermione spent the rest of the afternoon in the office marking the papers that had been there for a week, not because she particularly wanted to get them out of the way, she just didn't want to have to face people right then. It worked well as she didn't talk to Ron until that evening when they all sat together at dinner but even then she was required to say very little.

"So Ron, where are you planning on living now you're back?" Ginny asked across the table.

"Um I don't know, I guess I'll just check in at the Leaky Cauldron for a while until I could find a place."

"Hey I know!" Neville cried suddenly making Malfoy, who was sat beside him jump, "Why don't you stay here? Apply for the Quiddich coach!" Everyone smiled except Hermione who could have kicked Neville.

"You know I think I might!" Ron smiled "In fact I'll go and talk to Dumbledore about it right now." He got up and drained the last of his pumpkin juice before walking away.

"So Hermione are you going to be ok if he gets the job?" Harry asked looking concerned.

"Oh god Hermione I forgot about that I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything." Neville says also looking concerned with a dash of panic thrown in.

"What yes I'll be fine." She lied "It'll be fun in fact we just need to get you two back and it will be just like seventh year again!" she laughed getting up. "I'm erm, going to go and mark some papers I'll catch up with you guys tomorrow." Hermione said as she quickly dashed away. "Shit" she muttered to herself as she walked away.

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Thanks to all of you that have reviewed! Please keep doing so! 


	5. Their Cunning Plan

**Chapter 5 – Their Cunning Plan.**

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Disclaimer: Hey guys guess what! I still don't own Harry Potter, shocking innit?

**Harry kid **– real sorry mate but it isn't Harry getting the job but I promise you I will make sure he is in it as much as possible. In fact I may fire a teacher and get him to replace them. But if not I'm already working on a new story to upload after this one which will have him as a main character.  
**FishAndMenCanLiveTogether **a.k.a Loz ­ - it took me ages to work out that you weren't talking about the story I've been sat here thinking who the hell is Ashley until I thought back to P.E. (you're right you should have).  
**PaulaS **– I know you weren't don't worry about it mate and I think I may have been a bit on edge that day so I was ready to make a lot of false accusations.  
I also re-read the story you were talking about and I agree with you that it is quite similar so far so I will try to make it as different as possible. Don't worry all will be explained soon if not in this chapter then the next.  
**Bhekie** – don't feel mad at Neville it was really very useful with what he said seeing as how it helps my story along and anyway someone got to have a big mouth haven't they?  
**Martha – **ha I shall resist the bagpuss threat! (But I did start writing again after reading your review lets just call it a coincidence!).

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Ginny walked down the hallway to Hermione's room, she had been in there all morning and had already completely missed breakfast. The door was locked so Ginny knocked. After a few minutes Hermione opened it and Ginny barged in before she could say anything.

"You missed breakfast."

"I over slept." Hermione muttered flopping down on the bed "I'm on holiday too I'm allowed a lie in from time to time."

"You were quiet all of yesterday."

"Yeh well no one was supposed to be happy, we were supposed to be remembering all our friends who died."

"But still everyone got on with things you just locked yourself in your room all night."

"So?"

"I know you're upset for various reasons but can you just leave it for a while?"

"You're asking me to just hide all my feelings?" Hermione snapped.

"No, no of course not, but Ron's only just come back can you let him settle in before we question him too badly."

"I don't know Ginny."

"Please he's my brother I don't want to loose him again. And I don't think mum would be able to cope if he left." Ginny pleaded.

"Fine but I'm not just going to forget it, I'm still going to confront him, but I suppose I've waited this long another week or so won't hurt."

"Hermione you are the bestest best friend in the whole entire world!" Ginny squealed running over and hugging Hermione.

"Ok Ginny calm." Hermione laughed.

"Oh and Dumbledore asked if you'd be on duty later on outside, Neville fell into a vat of one of Malfoy's potions and has turned green. So obviously they can't do it."

"What potion was this?"

"I don't know really. Malfoy never said what he was making."

"So Neville's in the hospital wing?"

"Oh no, Malfoy undid the effect quite easily but then Neville was running away from Peeves and fell down the stairs and knocked himself out. He's in his room and Malfoy's cleaning up the potion."

"He really does seem different nowadays."

"Yeh I know, he's even nice to Harry marrying Lavender and having a kid was the best thing he ever did. Have you seen him with Leon he's so un Malfoy like it's quite sweet really."

"I know! Anyway tell Dumbledore that that's fine."

"Ok see you at lunch?"

"Yeh sure."

Ginny got up and left the room, she walked back down the hall to the room her and Harry were staying in. She opened the door to find not only Harry, but Neville, Draco, Fred and George too.

"Well?" George asked looking up.

"It's all set, she said she'll do it so now it's down to you two how do you plan on getting them in there?" Ginny asked turning to Fred and George.

"Oh we have a few tricks up our sleeves."

"So basically just drag them in there and lock the doors right?" Draco shot.

"N-no." Fred stuttered turning red. Everyone shot him a 'yeh right' look "yeh ok that's what we we're going to do." He sighed.

"Come on lets go find Ron he'll want to celebrate getting the job." Harry said getting up and sliding his arm around Ginny's waist. Everyone got up and started to leave.

"Oh actually you two Hermione can't see you guys before she goes out on duty." Ginny said to Draco and Neville

"Why?" Neville asked

"'Cuz she thinks you're out cold and in you're room. So you'd better stay there for a while. And Draco you're supposed to be cleaning up a spilt potion in you're classroom. It's the only thing I could think of at the time, she asked why you couldn't do it."

"Oh ok. I've got papers to mark anyway" Draco shrugged and he and Neville walked off to their separate rooms.

The four of them found Ron in the Gryffindor common room playing wizard chess against Lee.

"Hi Ron, have you been here all day?" Fred asked while ruffling Lee's red hair.

"Nah I just said bye to mum, Bill, Charlie and Percy, they all needed to go back to work tomorrow. Mum said she'd owl you guys tomorrow."

"Well mind if we watch you play?" Ginny asked settling herself down so she could see the clock. A little later, when Lee had been beaten twice and won once, James and Leon joined them and they all went to lunch.

Hermione finished her lunch and left her friends ready to start walking out to the lake to keep an eye on the kids out there. She sighed as the cold nipped at her face and hands, but was thankful that it was neither snowing nor raining. It amazed her how all the students could spend their time out here, most of them wearing little more than jeans and a t-shirt.

After thirty minutes she was about ready to hurl herself into the lake just as something to do so she was eternally grateful when she was Fred running towards her.

"Hermione! I think a kid has locked themselves in the Quidditch changing rooms!"

"Why?"

"Because the door's locked and there's a kid in there."

Fred turned and started walking quickly back to the other end of the field and onto the Quidditch pitch. They stopped at the door and Hermione grabbed the door handle and rattled it. It opened.

"Fred what on earth did you drag me down here for, you could have easily opened the bloody UNLOCKED door yourself!" Hermione yelled, just so very slightly annoyed.

"Hermione calm yourself, hold some dignity, even if it had been that door which was locked a simple spell would have put it right no I need your brilliant powers over persuasion to get the student out of the shower room where the door is very much spell proof." Fred said with a bemused expression.

"Oh. Right. Ok then." Hermione muttered feeling slightly embarrassed as she followed Fred into the changing room. The door however was wide open. Hermione turned round giving Fred a questioning look.

"Sorry Hermione I really hate to do this but you'll thank us in the end." He said as he pushed her into the room and locker the door behind him.

"Ron! You have to come and see what they've done to the changing rooms it's so cool!" George called jogging across the lawn towards him.

"Why what is it they've done?" Ron asked as he found himself being dragged along behind his brother.

"Oh you'll see."

They finally got to the changing rooms and George pushed Ron into the room. Ron looked around expectantly but it all looked about the same as when he had been at school. In fact it was _exactly _the same. There was even the dent in one of the lockers where Oliver had punched it after loosing a game against Hufflepuff of all teams! Ron was just about to turn around to ask George what the hell was he playing at when he heard the click of the door being locked.

He stood still for a second before pulling out his wand and quickly walking over to the door. He tried various spells before concluding that a spell had been placed upon it that he couldn't undo. He sat on the bench and rested his head in his hands. He sat there for a moment wishing that his head would stop thumping, when he realised it wasn't his head and more the shower room door. He unlocked it and yanked it open sending Hermione flying into him.

"Oh thank god I thought I'd be in there until classes started!" Hermione cried as she picked herself up and brushed herself down. She looked up to see Ron trying not to laugh. "Oh hi Ron." She muttered before walking the door and trying to open it.

"I've tried it, George locked me, well us, in."

"Oh great perfect just _perfect_."

"Hey! Calm down." Ron laughed. "It's not the end of the world, people know we're here so it's not like we'll be stuck for ever. This is just one of Fred and George's jokes. They'll come and let us out eventually."

"So what do we do until then?"

"Wait I suppose. It'll be a great chance to catch up! I've hardly spoken to you so far you always seem to have work, I suppose I'll be like that soon, when I start teaching."

"Oh just bloody _perfect_!" Hermione muttered to herself but Ron still heard.

"Well you could try to be a little happy it isn't that bad is it?"

"Actually yes it bloody well is. See the thing is you seem to have forgotten how you left, or you want to forget, well the thing is it's still with me so it's a little harder for me to be happy seeing as how I want to hex you into oblivion."

"God Hermione that was ten years ago." Ron muttered trying to laugh but failed quite badly.

"Well it still hurts Ron." She whispered

"Well then can't we just go back to how it was, I still like you and I'm guessing you still like me so how about we give it another try?" Ron cleared the space between them in two quick steps and took her face in his hands.

"What so I can wake up one morning and find your side of the bed empty? Half your clothes gone? Sit around for two whole years in the vein hope you'd come back or at least write?" Hermione yelled pushing him away. "No Ron, no I can't do that. We were together for _four years _Ron, you said you loved me, did that mean absolutely nothing to you?"

"Of course it didn't you meant so much to me."

"Not enough to make you stay though." Hermione whispered closing her eyes hoping when she opened them that this wouldn't be happening.

"What can I do? Tell me and I will!" Ron pleaded. Hermione slowly opened her eyes _nope still here. _She sighed.

"Nothing Ron! You can't do anything! It's not like you can get the Quidditch teams to write a message in the sky and then all will be forgiven."

"Why not?"

"It just doesn't work that way, I trusted you with myself. I gave you my all and I really loved you. Then you broke my heart you just left and it took me a long time but I got over you. I'm not going to go back to how it was just so you can hurt me again."

"But Hermione I've changed I promise I have! You'll see. Please just take me back?" Ron begged.

"I can't Ron and you know it. But seeing as how we're going to be working together I guess it'll be hard for me to hate you all the time so friends?" Hermione asked as she stuck out her hand.

"Yeh ok." Ron muttered as he shook it, disappointed. But, he told himself, it was a start.

Hermione went and lay across one of the benches, she was happy to have got her feelings out but upset at the same time and also a little scared, was she really 100 over him or was she just kidding herself? Only time would tell she guessed. She looked across at him. He was stood in the centre of the room, his face scrunched up in concentration. She giggled.

"Ron what the hell are you doing?" she asked between laughs.

"I'm trying to apperate."

"God Ron does nothing penetrate that thick skull of yours? Where are we?"

"Hogwarts."

"And what is it you cannot do inside the Hogwarts grounds?"

"Erm..."

"Think back to that book I quoted at least a million times per year, the one you said make a handy fourth leg to your bed when it broke in sixth year? Ringing any bells at all?"

"Erm..."

"You really are very slow aren't you?" She snapped but with a smile to show she was only teasing. "Come on say it with me 'You cannot apperate or disapperate inside the Hogwarts grounds!'"

"Oh yeh. Well we're buggered then aren't we? We're stuck."

"Yeh but Fred and George will let us out."

"It's dinner time. They're not gonna come for hours."


	6. The Trio are Back

**Chapter 6 – The trio are back.**

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Disclaimer: All the HP stuff not mine. All the other rubbish I'll take credit for.

**Bhekie **– I know I made him a bit too needy sorry about that! But I just needed her to be able to say those _exact _words back to him and it was the only thing that fitted at the time. But don't worry he won't always be that bad. I hope!  
**Prefect Hermione – **I think I might have explained that in a later chapter but I'm not sure so I'll make sure I include it at some point. Thanks for reviewing the other chapters too!  
**Atrus Valentein **– I will make sure Ginny is in it as much as I can put her in. and don't worry all that information about the war and stuff will be put in at some point I just need to make sure it's at a good point to put it in.  
**JessicaDracoMalfoy, Jen Lunch **and** D-daygirl **– thanks for all of your positive reviews it's nice to hear what people think  
**Simon Cowell **–sorry if you find it boring but you don't have to read. I needed to put in the facts and things before I could start with the actual stuff that goes on. And as I will say to everyone thanks for your thoughts and I will take into account what you've said and hopefully improve the story.  
**Saraneth90 - **I started writing this story for just me before I found out about this fanfiction site so any similarities are pure coincidence. But there have been a few I've read since that are a little like this.

A/N – I forgot to put it on the last one but thanks to **Tracey** who is my beta reader and makes this babble readable for all you guys.

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Just like Ron had said Fred and George didn't come for ages. It was three hours later that they finally came down and let Hermione and Ron out. Grumbling they walked up to the Great Hall just in time to miss dinner.

"Great, thanks guys I'm totally starving!" Ron moaned as they walked back out into the hall.

"Ron you could have eaten a five course meal and still be starving. Anyway we'll just go down to the kitchens and ask the house elves to make us something." Hermione said as she walked down the hall.

"So given up on spew then?" Ron laughed as he caught up.

"S.P.E.W not _spew_ and I still think they're treated unfairly I mean just look at some families-" Hermione started on her long speech and Ron kicked himself for saying anything.

The next day they said goodbye to Harry, Ginny, Fred and George in the morning. It was Friday and everyone was thinking about the start of the new half term. Kids filled the library starting on the homework they'd been too lazy to do and teachers filled their offices starting on the lesson plans they'd avoided doing. Hermione was lucky she had all her lesson planned for her and it only took her an hour or so to glance through and check they were ok. After sitting alone in her room for an hour longer she decided that she was completely bored and went for a walk around the castle.

She passed the girls' bathroom that was still out of order and decided to take a look inside. She could here the dramatic wailing as soon as she opened the door.

"Who is it?" a voice demanded from inside a closed cubical.

"Myrtle? Is that you?" Hermione asked as she looked around the bathroom.

"OF COURSE IT IS WHO DO YOU THINK I'D BE THE QUEEN OF BLOODY ENGLAND?" Myrtle shouted as she flew over the top of the cubical and hovered in front of Hermione "Who are you anyway?"

"I'm Hermione Granger. Remember Harry Potter's friend?"

"Oh yes!" She exclaimed her face lighting up as soon as Harry's name was mentioned. "How is he, he didn't stop by as much after his second year."

"Well he's ok. He's married."

"WHAT! To who?" Myrtle shrieked rising up in the air again.

"Erm Ginny Weasly. You know Ron's sister."

"Oh bloody perfect! So he forgets all about _poor little Myrtle _and just moves on with his life while I'm stuck here forever!" Myrtle started to rant as Hermione quickly backed out of the door. Shutting it firmly behind her she vowed never to venture back in there unless it was completely necessary.

After about an hour of walking the castle Hermione was bored yet again. She passed the statue of the one-eyed witch and was struck with an idea. She grabbed her wand from her pockets and pointed it at the statue.

"Dissendium" the hump on the witch open to reveal the passageway to Honeydukes cellar. She quickly made her way down it while trying to decide if it was bad far a teacher to leave the grounds without permission. She decided it wasn't bad, to ease her guilt as she pulled herself out of the trapdoor and snuck unseen upstairs. After stocking up on lots and lots of sweets telling herself that she would give them out in class but knowing that it was a blatant lie, she made her way outside onto the slightly chilly streets of Hogsmade and very quickly into Weaslys' Wizarding Wheezes. Inside was bright colourful and warm, Hermione ducked under a fake wand that came flying at her when she opened the door and made her way towards the two red heads.

"Hey guys a little tip, you might want to _not _have things fly at the nice _paying_ customers when they walk in you know may attract more people. Just a little thought."

"Hey Hermione, why are you here is it another school visit? Fred quick get out more stocks!" George called. Hermione laughed and held her hand up

"George stop, breath, calm. I bunked off I needed something to do."

"What's this I hear? Hermione Granger bunking off school what a concept!" Fred laughed as he joined them.

"Well I'm a teacher and it's half term so you couldn't really call it bunking off." Hermione protested.

"Hey your words not ours!" he shot back and Hermione sighed knowing she wouldn't shut him up. After a while of chatting Hermione had to get back as it was nearly time for dinner to be served. She said Goodbye and quickly made her way back through Honeydukes and into Hogwarts.

As she made her way down to the Great Hall she bumped into Dumbledore and Harry who were walking down the hallway deep in conversation. They stopped when they saw her.

"Ah Hermione! I would like you to meet someone." Dumbledore called sounding quite excited. Hermione looked round for a third person but saw no one, she looked back to Dumbledore who was pointing at Harry. 'ok I think he may be a little too old for this job, he's going mad.' Hermione thought.

"Professor Dumbledore, I know Harry we went to school together, he's one of my best friends." Hermione spoke slowly raising her voice a little like she would if she was trying to explain something to a small child.

"Yes, yes I know that dear. But you don't know him as out new school head governor."

"What?"

"Harry just got the job of head governor, he will be moving closer to the school so he will be able to come in more often. I suppose this means that the three of you are joined again." Dumbledore smiled warmly before walking into the Great Hall.

"Oh Harry this is great! Why didn't you tell me that you were applying for the job?"

"Because I didn't. I got a letter this morning asking me to come in and then I got offered the job."

"So you think Ginny will be alright with moving?"

"Yes. We've been thinking about it for a while and think it would be best, closer to the school and James and all that."

"Well that's great come on lets go tell Ron." Hermione said and they both entered the Great Hall.

It was Sunday and all Hermione had seen all day was the faces of gloomy students upset about the thought of going back to lessons. She made her way down to the library; she wanted a good book to read as she had just finished her last one. After finding one that looked good she sat at a table and started to read.

After about five minutes she heard an annoyed groan coming from the other side of the bookcase. She decided to ignore it but when she heard it again minutes later she went to see who it was. She found Michael sitting at a table scribbling out something on a piece of parchment.

"What's wrong Michael?" She asked sitting down at a seat to his right.

"This stupid potions homework! I don't get it and don't say that just because I'm in Slytherin I should because I'm bloody sick of hearing it!"

"I wasn't going to. Now what is it you don't get?" she leaned over and read what Michael had written that he hadn't yet crossed out. It was on the effects that an embrollo potion had on the brain.

"God I hate it! I've failed the last four pieces of homework Professor Malfoy's given me. If I don't get a good grade I won't do well on my O.W.Ls and then my father will kill me."

"Well do you want some help then?" Hermione asked

"You'd really help me professor?" Michael asked as though he didn't quite believe her.

"Yes of course I will." Hermione smiled and Michael smiled back, the first real smile Hermione had seen from him. After about half an hour of helping him a thought came to Hermione.

"Michael can I ask you something? You don't have to give me an answer if you don't wish to."

"Ok Professor but only if I can ask you something back."

"Deal. I was just wondering why it is that you're so scared of not doing so well on you're potions O.W.L? You seemed scared of how your father would react?"

"Well you see my father was in Slytherin and he's pretty _set _to their old ways, I have to do well in potions and Defence against the Dark Arts and I'm never allowed to do something like Muggle Studies or that sort of thing. Trust me you wouldn't come out good if you got my dad mad."

"I see." Hermione whispered feeling sorry for him. "So you wanted to ask me something?"

"Yes I was wondering if you'd tell me about the Great War. I mean you were in it. I was only two at the time and I've always wanted to know what happen but no one talks about it. I'm always told I should ask but I mean how else will we know what happened? You don't have to tell me I know it's upsetting but I was just wondering." He said looking a little disappointed already predicting that she would say no just like everyone else he had asked.

"It's ok Michael, I'll tell you. I don't know it all and some parts are a little scrambled but I'll try." Hermione said as she though back to thirteen years before.

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**A/N** – so a few people have asked me to put in what happened to make Ron leave and so on so the next chapter will be a flashback. Hope you guys like it. Oh and don't forget to review! 


	7. Flashbacks

**Chapter 7 – Flashbacks**

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Disclaimer – All Harry Potter type things sadly not mine.

**JessicaDracoMalfoy **– Thank you for your kind words and support as always.  
**Harry Kid – **Thank you and all will hopefully be explained in this chapter.

A/N – thank you to my amazing wonderful and talented beta reader Tracey who checked this one so very quickly!

* * *

Hermione closed her eyes and started to recall –

"So we had just finished school and we went to the order to join up. We hadn't been allowed until we finished school, but we wanted to. So we spent some time just collecting information and gathering strength. Voldemort was strong and he had troops of death eaters so we couldn't just rush in there. It took time. We had people working on the inside too, like Draco; he got information from his father. Well at least until Draco killed him, that was very helpful to us, I mean the information not the killing, but I suppose that helped a little too."

"We had quite a few small battles with deatheaters we came across and sent many to Azkaban and killed some too, we lost people on our side though. But it was three years after we left school that the final battle began. We had been on training courses and were all in groups. One day, the middle of winter, we gathered and stormed the place Voldemort was staying in. We sent in group after group many not even reaching the inside of the building. They had known we were coming and they had been waiting for us."

**_FLASHBACK_**

It was dark and Hermione was cold, she was crouched down with Harry, Ron, Draco, Dean, Seamus and Lavender. Most of them were whispering quietly to each other, saying goodbyes and such. Hermione remained silent her knuckles were white from gripping her wand. She was watching as a group made their way across the grass to the building. Charms and hexes were flying through the sky with no mercy, people falling on either side; she winced in pain as she watched Hannah Abbott getting killed and flung to the floor.

"Ok guys time to go." She whispered. She had been put in control and was doing her best not to let her fear show. They all stayed low to the ground, readying themselves.

"Ready to run! RUN!" she commanded and they all threw themselves into a run for a few meters before flinging themselves to the floor and covering the group that were running in front until they got to the floor and Hermione's group ran again, letting the others cover them. They continued to pepper pot all the way to the wall of the building where some climbed and others stayed. Hermione pulled herself over the wall and shot down two deatheaters before dropping down onto the other side. Harry, Ron, Draco and Lavender followed. They were alone the halls were dark apart from the odd lit torch at intervals down the passage casting a evil feeling about the place. Slowly they five made their way silently down the hall. When they reached the end they went up a large staircase.

At the top there was a small window and Hermione hurried to look out of it.

"We're pretty far up now, about fifth floor I'd say. Most of the people down there are gone, meaning they've been wiped out or they're somewhere inside."

"Well let's hope it's the first one." Harry whispered starting down the next hallway

**_ENDFLASHBACK_**

All the time Hermione had been remembering she had been speaking and both she and Michael were lost in the memories she was telling.

"So we were inside and walking around, yet we still didn't come across anyone. To start with it didn't occur to us to be worried about this, we just thought we got lucky and everyone was still in the fight outside. Well we did until we went into another room."

**_FLASHBACK_**

Inside the room were a group of about fifteen people all with the black uniform of the deatheater. They all turned as they heard the door open. Raising their wands the surrounded the five in a tight circle.

"Well, well, well it took you long enough." One rasped jamming their wand into Harry's throat making him choke. Another reached out their hand and the wand was removed.

"The master has been waiting for you." A female voice taunted as the two at her sides grabbed Harry and pulled him out of the circle.

"HARRY!" Hermione and Ron both yelled after him as he was thrown into the wall. The female pointed her wand at him and was about to send a spell but another stepped in front of her.

"Master said he would be sent straight to him and he must not be harmed by us." He snapped grabbing Harry by the arm and pushing him into an adjoining room. The three that had left the circle followed Harry and there was a click as the door was locked.

The rest of the circled tighten more and all pointed their wands to the four left.

"But- but they j-just said you couldn't hurt us!" Lavender stuttered.

"No you stupid girl. Just Potter, we couldn't hurt Potter. You the Dark Lord doesn't care about." A tall black hair woman spat.

Something inside Hermione stirred, and she felt anger like she had never felt before it welled up inside her like air in a balloon and she felt like she was going to pop. Her arms started to shake and pain erupted inside her head. Holding out her hands she could clearly see every vein on them she closed her eyes and when she reopened them they were pure black.

"NO" she screamed and flung her hands out to the sides. Ron, Draco and Lavender ducked along with very few deatheaters. The others scattered like skittles just hit by a bowling ball. The hit the wall and cracks of necks and other bones breaking filled the room.

**_ENDFLASHBACK_**

"But Professor how did you do that." Michael asked interrupting her thoughts.

"To this day I still don't know. It has only happened once after that and it was tiny compared to that I mean all it did was knock over a lamp the second time. I tried to research but there wasn't anything about it that I could find. In the end I gave up finding out, it seems to happen when I feel trapped or need help so it can't be too bad."

"But don't you care that it's like inside you without you knowing what it is?"

"Yes, but I try not to dwell on it for to long, the subject makes my head hurt."

"Oh sorry. So what happened next?"

"Well we thought all the Death Eaters were gone, they were all sprawled out on the floor, in fact we were pretty proud of ourselves, you know gone up against twelve deatheaters, it was three to one and none of us died! But well we celebrated a little too soon I suppose."

**_FLASHBACK_**

Ron, Draco and Lavender and stood up from where they had been crouched and threw themselves onto Hermione in a huge hug.

"Why didn't you bloody tell us you could do that?" Ron laughed feeling relived.

"I didn't know I could that's the first time it happened." Hermione whispered.

"Who the bloody hell cares it just saved our asses." Lavender grinned and pulled Draco into a kiss. But a suddenly she froze and a rasping breath could be heard. They all turned to see the female deatheater pointing her wand into Lavender's neck. Lavender took in a shallow scarred gasp, eyes widening. Quick as a flash the deatheater moved her wand from Lavender to Ron

"_Imperio" _Ron's body stiffened and his face fell blank. Slowly he walked towards Lavender. He pulled out his wand but stopped. Instead he picked up the knife that the deatheater had thrown to him. He backed Lavender into a corner and plunged it into her throat. She took one last breath before blood spilled out of her mouth and she crumpled to the floor. Ron stayed stood blanked faced as Draco's world crashed down around him and Hermione tried to comfort him to no avail.

"NO! Lavender!" He cried as he fell to his wife's side taking up her hand in his. It was ice cold. He dropped it and whirled around to face the deatheater.

"_You. _You did this! Why? How could you?"

"She was only a filthy Mudblood I did the world good by getting rid of her." She smirked. In an instant Draco was upon her wand pointed at her forehead. She laughed.

"Remember the name Capp, _Malfoy_ I'll be back to finish the rest of you off!" She cackled before she disapperated. As soon as she was gone Ron snapped out of his trance and fell to the floor.

"NO!" he yelled jumping up. He looked down at Lavender's lifeless body and his face drained of all colour. "O-oh god! D-did I? Oh Draco I'm so – I didn't know wh- I couldn't stop her-." Ron babbled on with his unfinished sentences as Draco slid down to the floor his face grave and stony.

"We need to get out of here. Ron will you be able to apperate?" Hermione asked

"Y-yes I'll try."

"Ok I'll take Draco and we'll meet at Grimmauld Place. Dumbledore will probably be there by now."

"But what about Harry?" Ron asked looking to the door.

"Harry can handle himself Ron, he's brave, smart, and strong. You know as well as I do, there is no opening that door until there is only one left standing inside. We couldn't do anything even if we did get in there. We'll be better off going back and re-grouping."

"But -"

"Need I remind you whose leader of this group? Don't make me pull rank Ron!" Hermione snapped as she helped Draco to his feet. Ron sighed and with a pop he was gone. Hermione held onto Draco and followed.

**_ENDFLASHBACK_**

"So we went back and we had our wounds tended to of course."

"What did you do next?"

"We waited. Dumbledore wouldn't allow Ron or Malfoy to go back and he said I couldn't go alone. He asked me to comfort Ron the best I could, me and him were dating at the time."

"Did Harry come back that night?"

"Yes it was very late, probably early morning. I was in bed at the time so I didn't see him at his worst. Two members of a group that had been captured found him in the room. Voldemort was dead beside him and Harry was very badly injured and was in a coma for the next few weeks."

"So are you and Professor Weasly going to get back together?"

"No. I shouldn't think so. He hurt me badly."

"How? I'm sorry you don't have to tell me."

"No it's ok. I've never realized before but I have actually never sat down and talked it through. It seems silly really. I mean it seems to be helping me at the moment. The next morning when I woke up Ron and half of this belongings were gone. I had loved him and he just upped and left. I mean I know he had his inner demons and everything but just one little note wouldn't have been so hard. Ten years ago he left and this week is the first time I've had any contact with him since."

"But that's awful!"

"I know, but sometimes I think it mustn't be. I mean everyone else is acting like he'd just gone away on holiday for a week or so!" Hermione sighed. "Anyway it's getting late and we both have classes in the morning so come on."

"Thank you Professor. You didn't have to help me with my homework and you didn't have to answer my questions but you did both to an extent that was more than I could have asked for. You seem to be the only person in this place who treats me like a human being." Michael smiled and Hermione felt a stab of sympathy go through her heart as she watched him walk away.

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So far I've only had 2 reviews for chapter 6 that may be because I only put it up last night but it's still sad so please all you kind people before you review this one go back and review 6 too. 


	8. The Class Gone Wrong

**Chapter 8 – The Class Gone Wrong**

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Disclaimer – All Harry Potter type thingies not mine.

Thank you to my lovely kind reviewers -

**Isabella,**  
**Blackdragonofdeath13**,  
**JessicaDracoMalfoy,  
****Bhekie,  
****Sehila,  
****Harry kid,**

A/N – thanks go to Tracey as always my marvellous beta reader

* * *

By Friday Hermione had finally got into the routine of getting up and getting ready for classes on time and it was the first time in a week she had arrived in her classroom before her class did. This set her in a happy mood and she was singing away to herself as her seventh year class filed in and took their seats.

"Good morning class." She beamed across at them all but only got a few grunts for a reply. "Well nice to know you care" she muttered as she turned to the board and started writing.

"Ok so we've covered transfiguring objects and animals almost to boredom right?" she asked and got a few nods back. "Well for this term, and yes it will take a term to do, we are going to try transfiguring ourselves and each other."

A ripple of excitement travelled around the class and Hermione waited until they had settled before continuing.

"Now many of you may be thinking that I'm just going to teach you to become an Anamangi. Well I'm afraid not. If you want that you'll just have to wait until after school and take classes still. Anyhow, we will be using a wand and the spell is extremely complex and will take many, many lessons of studying before we actually get to see anything fun." A groan of disappointment travelled round the class. "Ok then who wants to come up here right now and have someone who hasn't practised at all point a wand at you?" she asked looking around at them all, no one said anything. "I though as much. Now please turn to page 153 and make notes. At the end of the lesson you will be able to practise the spell."

She sat on her desk also quickly flipping through the book to make sure she had it down perfectly as it was a very complex spell and she would hate anything to go wrong. After about twenty minutes she snapped the book shut and looked up at her class.

"Right! That's about enough of that. You all think you've got the idea?" she asked and smiled as most of the class nodded. "Ok then, well I was thinking what the best way to do this was. I want to see how much of the theory you've taken in but obviously I don't want you practising on each other so I would like you all to meet Alex." She smiled as she pointed her wand at the cupboard and a man walked out.

To start with he looked like a normal bald man but when they all looked closer they saw that his eyes had no colour. Instead they were just pure white. Some of the class recoiled away from him where as others merely looked shocked.

"Don't worry guys he won't bite. Well, I hope not. If he does then I've done the spell wrong." She laughed at her joke but quickly stopped as no one else was. "Sorry. Right, this is Alex. He used to be a plastic skeleton I got off one of my muggle friends, who is studying to become a doctor. The skin is just a charm to help you focus on the fact that it is human, unfortunately I've never been able to make the eyes look real yet." The class looked a lot more relaxed now they knew it wasn't some sort of zombie. "Now who's going to be brave enough to come and show of in front of us all?"

Five minutes later all the desks had been cleared and there was a large circle drawn on the floor. Hermione stood in the centre of it with Alex and the class stood around the outside.

"Ok, so I'm going to have to stay in the circle to keep the spell on Alex going but other than that none of you should cross the line unless it's your turn. This is a dangerous spell if it goes wrong so I'm going to cast a spell the block all spells crossing the line. Now after you've cast the spell on Alex keep your wand. It still may let off a few sparks, as it's not used to the spell, so

I don't want any flying off all over the place ok?" The class nodded eagerly and the first person stepped into the ring to try.

The first six or seven people took their go and did it quite well, none of them were able to hold the shape they had made for more than a couple of seconds but

Hermione was feeling very proud. Next up was a girl from Ravenclaw called Anna Halshaw. She pointed her wand at Alex and spoke the spell his outline wobbled out of shape for a few seconds before it remained his normal shape. Anna cried out in disappointment and looked to Hermione for help.

"Don't worry Anna try again but this time use a more commanding voice." Anna tried again and this time was able to change Alex in to a textbook.

"Professor I did it!" she squealed as she spun around ready to receive praise.

Hermione gasped as a few blue sparks flew from the wand and hit her square in the chest. Her outline wobbled for a second before her form shrunk down into a small potted plant.

"Oh my god!" Anna shrieked. "Oh my god what do we do?"

"Well it's not going to stick is it I mean we aren't strong enough yet are we?" one boy asked. But after five minutes more thy decided Hermione definitely wasn't turning back. One student quickly went to get Madame Pomfrey and others tried to comfort Anna who had gone in to a complete state of shock and guilt.

Hermione's new plant shaped form was quickly taken to the hospital wing and the students were given the rest of the double lesson they were supposed to have off to get over the shock.

That evening the spell to reverse the effects was finally found and Hermione was turned back into herself again. Unfortunately, having spent a while as a plant her body was damaged by the spell and she was quite ill. Ron, Draco and Neville went to visit her that evening.

"Hey Hermione." They all whispered as they sat down.

"Hey." She croaked back.

"So Harry's going to be taking over your class while you're off. But don't worry I don't think he'll be trying the spell you did today." Ron grinned and

Hermione managed a weak smile back. They started telling her about how Neville had managed to fall into a large plant pot while teaching the first years that afternoon. But Madame Pomfrey came and shoed them out saying that her patient needed rest. Hermione was alone again until she was given her sleeping potion where she fell into a deep dreamless sleep, for a while at least. In the middle of the night she woke with an uneasy feeling. She looked up to see a pair of eyes starring back at her she opened her mouth to shout but the person had grabbed the goblet on the bedside and force-fed her the last of the sleeping potion before she could. The next morning when Hermione woke she thought it to only be a dream and pushed it to the back of her mind while she was fussed over and tested.

Three days later Hermione was finally fit enough to get up and move about but it was decided she wouldn't teach for the week just in case so she ended up having a lot of free time. On Wednesday afternoon she was sitting in the library absorbed in a book when Ron came and sat with her.

"Hermione I'm bored."

"Do something then."

"But it all bores me."

"Haven't you got lesson plans to do?"

"Got them all of Madame Hooch."

"Homework to mark?"

"Don't give homework in flying."

"Why don't you go flying?"

"The weathers not fine."

"Well I don't care what you do but just stop irritating me." Hermione snapped as she re-read the same line for the fifth time.

"God so-rry." Ron muttered and muttered something that sounded like "PMS" under his breath.

"Ron you should take up a hobby. If you have every Wednesday afternoon off you need something to do apart from interrupting my reading."

"Well I was thinking I would just come and watch a beauty like you work."

"Ron we've been through this I'm just friends with you so stop talking like that."

"Sorry slip of the tongue. But you're right I do need something to do."

"Good I'm always right. Now go and bother Harry or someone."

"Fine. See ya at dinner?" Ron said, getting up and leaving.

--

A figure in dark robes quickly crossed the grounds in the shadow of the castle before entering the forest.

"All four of them are there!" they hissed to another figure that had been waiting.

"All four?"

"Yes I was shocked to but this is going to be better than we planned we can get it done in one go. You go and inform Him and I still need to track down Cromwell before it's too late and it all gets screwed up. I've only got a day left she's definitely hiding herself well." The two of them quickly left the Hogwarts grounds before disapperating with two loud 'pops.'


	9. The Bad News

Disclaimer – I don't own Harry Potter. So there will be no suing!

Thank you to my wonderful reviewers I love you all –

**JessicaDracoMalfoy, **

**Sehila – **_always happy to help people put off schoolwork lol. Thanks!_

**Bhekie,**

**Harry kid**

**A/N** – Thanks to all of my reviewers you guys are the best I'm sorry I can't respond to all of them, but I really just haven't got the time right now. I really would love to but I need to be thinking up plot ideas for this story and another one or two that are in the making. So basically if you put something I feel the need to respond to then I will if not I'll put up you're name to show I'm so very thankful to you! Hope no ones mad!

**A/N 2** – Short yes. Rubbish yes. Took a long time to update yes. So please don't tell me any of that. I've had some stuff I've needed to deal with and I haven't been in the mood to write, I'm still not really but I thought I should do this just to make sure you guys don't get to bored. Also I wrote this in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep.

**A/N 3** – Thanks to Tracey my beta reader. Without her this story would be incredibly rubbish and make no sense at all.

Chapter 9 – The Bad News 

The next Monday morning Hermione was back on her feet and ready to teach. She had the vase of flowers Anna had given her to say sorry on her desk and a whole pile of graded papers that she had been able to get done while she had been off. Her first lesson was with the first years so thankfully she wouldn't have to do anything too hard. She had just set the class off on task before Harry burst into the classroom.

"Herms bad news. Very, very bad news!" He wailed as he sat at the end of the desk. All the students held their wands still and started listening intently.

"Harry I have a class here."

"Oh." He said turning to face them. "Sorry guys. But seriously Herms this is like gut wrenchingly awful and it's happening here at Hogwarts!" By this time he had every single member of the class' attention.

"Go on then Harry, I'll never get them to work if they don't find out now so I suppose you can tell us all." Hermione said lying through her teeth, as it was plain obvious that she wanted to know just as bad as everybody else in the room.

"Ok. Hogwarts is getting another High Inquisitor!" Harry announced melodramatically. The students' faces fell with disappointment. They didn't know what a High Inquisitor was but it didn't sound at all scary or like anything that would offer a little excitement.

"What! Why?" Hermione exclaimed, forgetting she was supposed to be acting like she didn't care.

"Well, I guess it's because nearly all of the teachers have changed since Umbridge came they wanted to see what us lot were like."

"But they didn't want to check last time. Fudge just needed someone to spy on Dumbledore and make sure he wasn't spreading the truth."

"I know. But now the ministry believe it would benefit Hogwarts if the teachers were checked on regularly." Harry said with a sympathetic smile.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "How regularly?"

"Every four years I think they said. Anyway this High Inquisitor, we haven't a clue who it is yet or anything about them, but they'll be coming in a weeks time and will be staying 'till the end of the year."

"This sucks entirely!" Hermione moaned and slumped in her chair, sighing. She then realised that her class had lost interested completely and was making a lot of noise. "RIGHT, EVERYONE SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN!" She yelled, and the class did very quickly and in a shocked manner. "Thank you." She smiled, her voice back to its usual volume. "Now this is a time to learn, not to talk."

"But Professor, you were talking." One boy near the back called out, earning a few laughs.

"Yes, but I've already been through school and I'm the teacher meaning I have the right to talk. And that's five points from Ravenclaw for talking back Mr Lee. Thank you. Now class can I get on with my lesson please?" She snapped as the laughs and smiles quickly disappeared.

Harry stayed in Hermione's class for that lesson watching her teach with interest. Afterwards he quickly said goodbye and dodged students as he made his way to see Ron.

He found him in the outside broom store getting out the brooms for his next lesson.

"Ron! Hi, here let me help you." Harry called and walked over to take a pile of brooms out of Ron's hand.

"Thanks Harry." Ron smiled as he handed them over.

"So how goes life as a teacher?" Harry asked as they laid out the brooms for the students to use when they arrived.

"Not so bad really, it's quite fun. Especially doing Quidditch and teaching the first years. It's so funny, I'm sure I've got Neville's double in my class. He's really hopeless."

"And how are thing with you and Hermione then?"

"Ah, not so good I'm sad to say. She stuck in the all we can be is friends rut. I really haven't a clue what to do to show her I'm never going to leave again."

"Can you seriously say you never will?"

"Well no, I suppose not, but I'd never go for that long again."

"Well, why did you in the first place? Why for so long?"

"I just needed to get away for all this. I just wanted a break for all the death and sadness."

"Ron, we all feel like that but we can't just take off for ten years."

"I know. You don't have to tell me it was stupid. I already know that."

"Well were did you go? I mean we were looking for you for ages. There was like, no traces."

"I moved abroad and stayed with Muggles. They had no idea that I was a wizard.

I kept on telling myself that I would leave but I never had the guts to come back and the longer I left it the harder it became."

"So what made you come back in the end then?"

"I fell out with the person I was living with and didn't have enough money to get a place of my own. So this was the only choice really."

"You're bulling me and we both know it."

"Yeah ok. I put a memory charm on myself, only a weak one mind I'm not that stupid, but no matter what I did I couldn't get Hermione out of my head. I wouldn't have a clue who she was until it wore off but she'd still be there. I tried everything I could to try and forget her. I even got with another woman, that's who I was living with, but she just wouldn't go. So in the end I told the woman I was living with that I was in love with someone else and she chucked me out and I came home to try and patch things up."

"But where were you living before you met this woman then? I mean, you couldn't have just moved in straight away."

"No, for the first five or so years I had a job at an inn and I lived in one of the rooms there. She started working there and we dated for a couple of years before I moved in."

Their conversation ended as the class arrived and Ron jogged up to meat them and start a game of Quidditch. Harry got bored of watching after a few minutes and grabbed a broom to join Ron, who was flying around refereeing.

"Hey Harry!" Ron called. "You wanna show them what it's like to actually be a good seeker?" Harry just laughed but said nothing, yet Ron continued. "Class you may know Harry Potter as The Boy Who Lived but did you know he was also the youngest Hogwarts Gryffindor seeker for nearly a whole century? Now Harry, show them how it done!" He looked over to Harry but he was already gone, shooting after a golden glint that must have been the snitch. The whole class cheered and clapped as Harry landed, snitch in hand; unfortunately it made many members of the class nearly fall from their brooms.

"There's another lesson for you too then!" Ron yelled happily "Never clap when

on a broom unless you want broken arms."

Harry started to fly back up to Ron and the class when something caught his attention in the corner of his eye. He turned to face it and thought he saw a shadow receding into the forest but when he looked back a second later there was nothing but trees. He shook his head and laughed.

"Come on Harry you had enough paranoid sights while you were at Hogwarts.

You don't want them again. It must just have been the light." He muttered to himself as he flew up to Ron and threw him the snitch.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Ok guys you know you want to review and it just one little press of a button away so do it now! (Smiles hopefully at screen).


	10. Day Care

**Chapter 10 – Day Care**

* * *

Disclaimer – I don't own Harry Potter... Yet (cue evil laugh)

Thank you wonderful reviewers –

**Sehila,  
****JessicaDracoMalfoy,  
****Sweet Stephy,  
****Bhekie – **_haven't planed on firing anyone just yet, well no one important anyway so don't worry about that one. _

A/N - Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, some of you have for nearly every chapter so far and may I just say you guys are amazing and as for my new reviewers hello! Welcome to my story and thank you for reviewing of course.

A/N 2 – Tracey my beta reader is the best I thank her a lot! (sorry for all the mistakes in this one I was in a rush when I wrote it so I didn't check it at all).

* * *

At the end of the week a staff meeting was called in the staff room. Hermione, always being punctual, was one of the first there. She sat and made small talk with another Professor about the students and about the unknown addition to the staff.

"So do you think they'll be as bad as the last one?" Hermione asked.

"Well I wasn't around then, but from what I've heard I bloody well hope not!"

"Are they going to be teaching a lesson?" Hermione asked, trying to remember if anyone had said anything about a class going spare.

"Not that I know of, I think they're just going to do more checks and things, I mean we have full staff so unless someone is going then I don't think so."

"Oh God! Unless they fire someone!" Hermione groaned and went on to recount what had happened to Professor Tralwney.

Finally the others arrived and the meeting started. Professor Dumbledore told them that the High Inquisitor would be coming on Sunday afternoon so they would be able to start work on the Monday morning. They wouldn't teach any classes, but would be the one to take it if the teacher was unable.

The meeting ended after all other business was sorted and Hermione left to go and write a letter to Tom and Emma, as she hadn't for a while. She was walking down the corridor to her room, planning out what to put into the letter and what things it would be best to leave out, when she heard her name being called. She turned to see Ginny running up to her.

"Hermione can you do me a humongous favour?" She asked bouncing from foot to foot and clasping her hands in prayer position.

"That depends, I haven't got any money if that's what you're asking."

"What? Oh no! No, no, no nothing like that. I was just wondering if you'd help out at day care on Saturday. All the other assistants are sick so it's just me.

Harry said he'd help so that would make three of us, which should be ok. That's only one less than usual."

"Sure no problem, I'm not doing anything and it'll give me something other than marking to do."

"Great! Hermione you're a star!" Ginny hugged her friend and rushed off, leaving Hermione standing laughing at her dashing about.

Just a few steps on from where Ginny left her Hermione bumped into Ron.

"Hey Hermione can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

"No I mean I'm going to ask you something else so listen ok."

"Ok"

"I was wondering, and I know you said you only wanted to be friends but please just let me prove I've changed. So I was wondering if you'd go to Hogsmade with me tomorrow?" He asked, not able to look her in the eye and his ears turning slightly red.

"Oh Ron that's so sweet and I'd love to." Ron looked up at her and smiled relieved to not have been rejected again. "But I can't I promised Ginny I'd help at day care, she's got no staff." Hermione said giving an embarrassed, apologetic half smile.

"Oh right ok. No problem then. Well I'll see you around then." Ron babbled, trying to hide his disappointment. He quickly walked off, Hermione watching him go with pity in her eyes. She entered her room deep in thought. If she hadn't of been doing anything the next day would she still said yes? She still only wanted to be friends with Ron but the prospect of him changing did make her a little curious. She went to bed that night still confused and the letter forgotten.

The next morning she woke up late and quickly rushed to dress. She put on jeans and looking outside she decided a very thick sweater to go with it. She quickly rushed down to the Great Hall and grabbed a piece of toast before getting in a carriage to go into Hogsmade.

When there she crossed the platform into the town and entered the new building that had appeared on the street. It was Ginny's day care service. It was called

'The Magic Toy Box' and was for wizard families with young children needing caring for. Inside so many colours hit her she had to shut her eyes for a second before she got used to it. The room was quite large and in one corner there was a big pile of cushions and in another there were a few small tables with pots of crayons in the centre. A bookcase stood against the far wall and small squishy chairs were set in a semi circle around a larger chair next to it. There were two doors, one that went into a huge cupboard where all the toys were kept and the other that led of to the bathrooms, a kitchen and a small office.

The cupboard opened and Ginny walked out. "Oh, hiya Hermione come on in. Go put your coat in the kitchen and could you start pouring out some drinks? The kids will be here in a minute."

"Sure." Hermione walked through to the kitchen but opened the hatch into the main room so she could pass the drinks though and chat to Ginny. "So wheres

Harry?"

"Oh he's with Lily at the moment, he'll bring her here in a minute and then he's got some urgent Ministry business apparently." Ginny spat with venom.

"What? So we're going to be doing this alone then?" Hermione asked, completely terrified at the though of lots of kids and only her and Ginny to deal with them.

"Oh no. Didn't he tell you? Ron said he'd help out. You two are ok now aren't you? Are you going to be fighting? Cause there's no swearing allowed in front of the young children."

"Oh yeah, we're ok now."

"Good. Oh look here's Harry." Ginny said as Lily ran us to her and jumped into her arms. Harry followed his daughter slower and more cautiously. Ginny looked up and shot him a look of disgust. "Shouldn't you be going now?" She spat and turned around to help Lily take off her coat. Harry stood unsure what to do for a second before his face fell and he apperated away with a soft 'pop'. Ron arrived and so did the eleven other children shortly afterwards.

The morning passed pretty quickly and Hermione found herself rushed off her feet and completely exhausted. Then came lunch. The children screamed, shouted, and levitated their food into the faces of others. For Hermione it was hell on earth. For Ron it was a chance to become a kid again and join in. And for Ginny it was just another time to show off her maternal instincts. Hermione felt a complete failure and quickly stepped outside as the tears filled her eyes. She leant against the wall and took a few deep breaths.

"Hey what's wrong?" Ron asked, having followed her outside.

"Nothing." Hermione muttered and sniffed.

"Bull. Come on, tell me."

"I can't do it. You and Ginny are great you can look after them, get them to eat and sit down when they're supposed to. Me they completely ignore or do the complete opposite."

"What? Hey, no they don't. Come here." Ron said and pulled her into a hug.

"Listen, me and Gin are from a big family and our mom passed all her tips onto us. We've had years of being taught and we used to have to baby sit for next door when we got older. This is you're first time looking after them. And I can tell you at this age you'd rather poke out your own eye. But it's only one day then you don't have to worry."

"You are going to make such a good parent."

"So are you. You just don't believe in yourself that you can do it. And when it's your kid you'll have the practise to do it."

"Thanks Ron." Hermione whispered as she pulled out of the hug. They stood and stared at each other their heads instinctively inching slowly together. Hermione closed her eyes and tilted her chin up.

"Hey you guys, a little help here please!" Ginny shouted and the two jumped away from each other. They hurried inside blushing, Hermione questioning the feelings she was having and Ron feeling like he could slap his sister.

Finally the kids settled down for their afternoon sleep and all was quiet again.

Hermione stood over the sleeping forms; they looked beautiful and completely peaceful. Definitely not like the ones who had been making so much noise before.

"Thinking you want one?" Ginny whispered as she walked over to look at them all too.

"I don't know. I mean I'd have to find a suitable dad first."

"Have anyone in mind?" Ginny asked.

Hermione didn't answer for a second. She looked over to Ron, who was sitting on a chair in the corner also sleeping. Hermione smiled and said, "I think I'm starting to."


	11. The New Staff

**Chapter 11 – **N**ew Staff**

* * *

Disclaimer – I own nothing you recognise it is all J.K Rowling's work.

Thanks go to -

**Harry kid,  
****Sweet Stephy,  
****JessicaDracoMalfoy,  
****Bhekie,  
****Sehila – **_I know rhythmic gymnastics I wouldn't need to look it up as a friend of mine used to do it, it looks so complicated you must have a load of patients to be able to do it and teach it!  
_**Kendra is cheese,  
****Niki Jo **

**A/N – **Ok guys I need you to tell me something. Do you want the ending to be a 'and they all live happily ever after' sort of one or do you want it to be a little more tragic. Let me know in a review because I'll need to change some characters personalities according to what you want. So hurry and review because I can't start writing chapter 12 until you do!

**A/N2** – thanks go to Tracey, my beta reader.

* * *

Sunday afternoon rolled up and the teachers all congregated in the Entrance Hall waiting for the arrival of the new member of staff. They heard the sound of horses' footsteps and quickly stood up straighter. Dumbledore stepped forward and opened the doors. A woman stepped out of the carriage with her case and walked into the hall.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, I presume." She smiled and shook Dumbledore's hand. "I am Pamela Cape, the Hogwarts High Inquisitor."

"A pleasure Miss Cape. Please do come and meet the staff." Dumbledore smiled warmly and went round each staff member introducing them. When they got to

Hermione, Cape's eyes lingered on her for slightly longer than the other teachers and her smile seemed to become a little more forced. It made Hermione uneasy and she quickly looked away.

"So what do you think of her then?" Draco asked as he, Hermione, Ron and

Neville were lounging about in the staff room.

"Don't you think she seems really familiar?" Hermione asked, hoping others would share her concern.

"From where?" Neville asked

"I don't know. It's just that I'm sure I've seen her somewhere." Hermione frowned, trying to place her.

"Maybe she just has a familiar face." Ron suggested before turning his attention to the biscuit tin.

"Yeah, that'll be it." Hermione muttered trying to convince herself. "Anyway I'll be off, homework to mark and all that."

"Yeah me too." Draco sighed and got up.

Neville followed. "I have to make a stock list of the plants I have in the store room."

All three turned to look at Ron who was still happily munching his way through the whole supply of biscuits.

He stopped and looked up at them. "What?" He mumbled around the food in his mouth, spraying crumbs everywhere.

"Don't you have any work to do?"

"Nope. Don't set homework and anything I need doing I can do on the days I don't do lessons in the week. Weekends are my time off."

"So you're just going to sit around and eat your own body weight in food then?" Neville asked.

"That's pretty much the gist of it!" Ron laughed and reached for another biscuit.

"Seriously Ron you really need to- " Hermione started but Ron interrupted.

"Find something productive to do with my time. Yeah, yeah I know, I working on it ok?"

That evening Professor Cape was introduced to the students at dinner. She sat at the staff table and was kind and polite. She got on well with everyone, but still something made Hermione feel uneasy about her. She couldn't put her finger on what but her eyes just seemed so familiar. But from where?

That night Hermione finally got around to writing letters to her friends and family outside Hogwarts. She was just about to go to and get an owl to send them when there was a knock at the door. She opened it to come face to face with Ron, looking slightly disgruntled. He pushed past her and came inside.

"Sure. Come on in." Hermione muttered sarcastically before shutting the door.

She turned around to see him pacing up and down the room. "Hey, you're gonna wear down the carpet. Now what's wrong?" she tried to joke weakly.

"I can't get you out of my mind Hermione. All I do I'm thinking of you and it's killing me. I know I don't deserve you and I know you said no. But please give me another chance. I've changed."

Hermione gave a small laugh and walked over to the desk. She picked up two rolls of parchment and handed them to him.

"I guess I've been thinking of you too." She whispered as he looked at the paper. It was covered with 'Ron Weasly' on front and back. She looked up at him face and their eyes locked. Suddenly the gap between them disappeared and their lips were pressed together. Hermione's arms circled around his neck, while Ron's hands made their way to her waist. They pulled apart for a second and looked into each other's eyes. "God, I missed that." Hermione smiled before leaning up to kiss him again.

"Well I don't think this is a very good extra curricular activity." A voice said and Hermione and Ron pulled apart. Professor Cape stood in the doorway.

"Professor Granger, Professor Weasly I do not think that this is a good example to be setting the students. They are here to learn not to date and it is you who should be teaching them that." She snapped before walking swiftly away. Hermione walked over and shut the door this time locking it too.

"God, she really needs to get some." Ron muttered as Hermione kissed him again.

"You are in?"

"Yes of course, all is going to plan."

"And you will strike soon?"

"They'll be dead before you can say Advra Kerdavra."

"What about the boy?"

"He is resisting for now but give me time and he'll come round and see our way of thinking once more."

"No one suspects anything?"

"Are you kidding? They're all far to wrapped up with the school and each other to see what's going on. We could set the whole forest alight and they would suspect. They're too scared to want to go back that they all make such wonderful excuses I can use."

Ok so just in case you didn't read it at the top I'll put it here too –

I need you to tell me something. Do you want the ending to be a 'and they all live happily ever after' sort of one or do you want it to be a little more tragic. Let me know in a review because I'll need to change some characters personalities according to what you want.


	12. The Inspection

**Chapter 12 – The Inspection **

* * *

Disclaimer – me no owney Harry Potter. 

Thanks to my reviewers as always and thanks for letting me know what ending you want.

**Jessica-McConell,  
****Kendra is cheese **­– _what is it you're confused about? Hopefully it should all become clearer soon but if not just ask.  
_**Mental357,  
****Harry kid –**_I'm not so sure about a sequel as it may be pretty boring but I may do a prequel at some point. I'm not so sure yet.  
_**Sehila,  
****Blah,  
****Bhekie,  
****Harry57love,  
****D-daygirl,  
****Miligurl08. **

A/N – ok most of you want a happy ending so that's what this one will be, there may still be death in it though. Sorry if you wanted a tragic ending but if there's anything that you really, really, really want to see happen let me know and I'll try to fit it in here somewhere. Sorry if this disappoints anyone but I gotta go with the majority.

A/N2- Tracey! Me beta reader you are wonderful thank you thank you!

* * *

Monday morning loomed and Ron dragged himself out of his nice warm bed cringing at the coldness all around him as he stepped into the bathroom. He was thankful that the candlelight wasn't too bright as his eyes still needed to adjust to being open again. Looking in the mirror he flattened down his bed hair splashed water on his face and reached for his toothbrush. He soon finished in the bathroom and pulled on some robes before joining the crowds going into the great hall for breakfast. 

He ate quicker than his usual pace and stood up to leave the Hall, saying goodbye to the teachers as he left. He opened one of the big oak doors and

Professor Cape walked in before he had chance to take a step. Malfoy was coming along the hall from the front door and stopped to allow Ron to pass.

"Good morning Professor Cape." He smiled warmly at her, wanting to get on her good side so he would get a good report especially as she had walked in on he and Hermione kissing.

"Oh morning Wea- Professor Weasly." She gave him a quick strained smile before walking quickly up the Hall to the teachers' table.

"Hi Malfoy." Ron said as he walked past him.

"Early start Ron?" Malfoy asked looking at the clock and trying to work out if he had ever seen Ron up before eight thirty this year.

"Yeah. I forgot to plan my lesson so I've got to get everything ready. And I want to clean my broom, I haven't had chance this week yet." Ron said goodbye and, darted around a group of giggly gossiping third-year girls, went straight to the front doors. He reached out to grab a handle but the door flew open before he gripped it. Michael Bedorven walked through, hands in pockets, eyes on the floor.

"Morning Michael." Ron said coldly "What were you doing outside?" He didn't like Michael, he had heard the warnings from the other teachers, he was in Slytherin and he acted like he didn't care about anything. All those traits got on Ron's nerves. A lot. Which made him have quite a short temper with the boy where he would be lenient with others.

"I was just going for a jog, Sir, it's good to keep in shape, especially if we're not all good at Quidditch like you." Michael smiled and quickly walked off. Ron sighed and shook his head at the retreating figure of the boy before walking out onto the grounds. Taking in a big breath of the cold air to wake up his senses he started a jog to the storage shed. He pulled out the brooms he would need for his sixth year lesson and lay them on the ground before pulling his own broom out too. He had been the proud owner of a Firebolt for two years but the broom still looked as good as new due to the amazing care he took of it. For the next ten minutes he polished the wood and trimmed the twigs making sure they were all perfectly in line.

The students for his first lesson finally joined him and he explained the moves that they would be practising. Ron put them into four groups and handed them each a quaffle before sending them up into the air. He stayed on the ground for a while checking over the snitches and bludgers before flying up to see how each group was doing. He rose from the ground and flew to the nearest group, staying quiet for a minute to see them run the play all the way through before correcting anything they were getting wrong.

"Here, let me show you something." Ron said to one of the girls as he took place in the play. The group started to run through it again and Ron caught the bludger and headed towards the point the group were using for a goal.

Suddenly, the broom came to an abrupt halt, before lurching forward again. It continued to do this before also starting to swing from side to side. Knuckles white from trying to stay on, Ron tried to stop the broom to no avail.

Finally after a few more lurches Ron was thrown from he broom and started to fall to the floor. Everything went in slow motion as he fell towards the ground.

He saw the student's faces to turn to panic and they all tried to make a grab at him to stop him hitting. Unfortunately no one was close enough to him so he hit earth with a painful thud followed by the crack of many braking bones. He felt a moment of blinding pain before all fell black.

"OH MY GOD, GO GET THE NURSE!" One of the students yelled as others flew down to crowd around Ron. He had cracked his head on the mud that had hardened into stony clumps from the lack of rain but was now soft from the amount of blood being soaked up.

"Is, is he… is?" Another of the students stammered, not being able to finish the sentence.

A few minutes passed with the students trying to get Ron to wake up before the nurse came and took him away on a stretcher floating in front of her. He was put into a bed. His head was stitched and he was given a blood transfusion to make up for the amount that he had lost. The potion to heal his bones was given to him through a drip as he had still not woken up. The cuts and bruises on his face remained as it may have harmed him if they were healed while he wasn't awake.

Hermione was waiting for her class to settle down from having the first ever inspection with Cape in the lesson they had just come from. The students were gossiping about what had happened and how the teacher had gotten nervous. She had kept on messing up really easy things that anyone could have done. She listened to the chatter, feeling nervous as she was being inspected in one of lessons the next day and Hermione wasn't looking forward to it. She had her lesson plans out on the desk so she could check it and make sure she knew exactly what she had to do. Hopefully there would be no chance of messing up like the poor teacher she had just heard being talked about.

"Right class, your work is on the board, please sit down and write notes on the topic. I need to plan the perfect lesson for tomorrow so don't bother me unless you have set yourself on fire or something of that nature. Else I shall blame you when it all gets screwed up and I get fired." Hermione smiled a smile only a very stressed person can achieve and sat back at her desk to write out the lesson notes she would need.

All was calm for about five minutes before a lot of noise started coming from outside the class.

"Oh for god's sake!" Hermione snapped starting to feel irritated. "How the hell does anyone expect to get any work do in that bloody noise!" She got up and yanked the door open with great force so it slammed against the wall before bouncing back shut behind her. In the hall there was a group of sixth year students sat and stood about, doing nothing.

"What are you all doing?" Hermione demanded.

"Well we were supposed to have double flying practise but Professor Weasly got sent to the Hospital Wing so we haven't got anything to do."

"What Ron's hurt? How? What happened?" Hermione asked, forgetting all about her annoyances and focusing on worrying about Ron's well being.

"Well it was really weird he came over to show us how to do something in the

Arrow Head play and his broom started thrashing about, threw him off and the ground was hard so he split his head open." One of the boys cringed as he explained.

"Oh god!" Hermione whispered as her hand flew to her mouth. "And is he ok?"

"Well he hasn't woken up and he needed a blood transfusion but Madame Pomfrey said that he'd be fine when he woke up."

"Oh thank god." Hermione exclaimed and set off down the hall intending to visit him.

"Er, Miss?" A student called after her. She turned and they all pointed at her classroom door where a lot of noise was coming from.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about them." She laughed and quickly went to control her class.

That afternoon she had a free period last lesson so she went to visit Ron in the

Hospital Wing. She sat by his bed and looked at him. He was very pale from lack of blood and his red hair showed this off even more. The left side of his face was badly bruised and had a few scrapes. She just sat for an hour starring blankly into the space above his bed. Hardly moving. Not speaking. Just looking.

She was made to leave by a nurse who came to check Ron's drip at four. She went to dinner and picked at her food, staying out of conversations before going to her office to try and get on with her lesson plan. She got little done and finally gave up, choosing instead to go take a long, warm bath before having an early night.

The next morning Hermione dragged herself out of bed and got ready to face the day's hard task. She dressed in her best robes and made sure her wand was polished and shiny. She stopped off in the Great Hall to grab a piece of toast and some pumpkin juice she carried them down to her class to make sure everything was in order.

After arranging the books, straightening out the desk and getting rid of a few layers of dust around the room she quickly went to the Hospital Wing to visit Ron until the bell rung.

It wasn't until her final lesson that Professor Cape finally arrived to see her and Hermione was feeling slightly frazzled by doing such fun and interesting lessons all day. But still she pressed on and explained a new spell to her second year class. After making sure they were all practising it ok she went around and collected the homework from all the students, deducting house points and giving detentions to those who hadn't done it. She took the rolls of parchment to her desk and putting them in the box that was marked with a '2' which showed it was for second years' homework.

"So tell me, who do you expect to be the one in charge of the detentions you just gave?" Professor Cape asked from where she was stood behind the desk.

"Oh I will, I try as best I can to oversee the detentions that I give out, it's not fair to the other teachers otherwise." Hermione replied and watched as Cape scribbled something down on a piece of parchment she had with her.

"Do you mind if I ask the students some questions?" Cape asked when she finished writing.

"Not at all, please go ahead." Hermione said and sat at her desk to watch as

Cape went around the room making students nervous as she questioned them.

The bell finally rung signalling the end of the lesson and Hermione dashed out, thankful to have that over with. It had been uncomfortable being in the same room as Cape for so long. She still couldn't understand what it was that was making her so uneasy about the new staff member but she didn't dwell on it too long as she went to visit Ron again.

She went along to the Hospital Wing and walked to the bed where Ron had been this morning to find it empty. The worst-case scenario instantly flew to mind and she panicked.

"Oh my god where is he?" She asked the nurse who had just come out. "Ron where's Ron?"

"Calm down dear, you'll give yourself and ulcer or something. Mr Weasly is in the back room now he is awake but he still needs a lot of treatment and care so he will be staying in for a while. You can go and see him if you wish but not for too long."


	13. Accusations

**Cha**p**ter 13 – A**c**cusations**

* * *

Disclaimer – how many times do I have to say this – I don't own Harry Potter!

Thank you reviewers –

**Sehila** – _thanks for being honest. I know the last one was a little weak but that's because it was the start of another chapter that I took and made a little longer.  
_**Melly589,  
****Sweet Stephy,  
****D-daygirl,  
****Starryeyed,  
****Harry kid,  
****Jennagirl9224**

**A/N – **Thanks Tracey, my beta reader.

Sorry about the wait but here it is. Enjoy!

* * *

Hermione walked the length of the wing and through a door, which led into a small room with only one bed in it, but it had it's own bathroom. Ron was laid in the bed still very pale but at least he was awake.

"Hi Ron." Hermione whispered as she walked over.

"What, no chocolates?" Ron said in fake shock. Hermione burst into tears. "Hey

I was only joking, in fact I'm a little sick of chocolate at the time being."

"What if you'd died?" Hermione wailed and flung her arms around his neck. Ron kissed the top of her head and put his arms around her. He shifted over a little and Hermione lay next to him.

"I wouldn't have. I'm well hard me!" He laughed weakly and Hermione smiled through her tears.

"I was so worried! What happened?" She asked snuggling into his shoulder.

"I'm not sure, I was on my broom and it started like jerking around. Like

Harry's did in first year."

"Well do you think someone could have tampered with it?"

"I don't know I didn't see anyone on the grounds while I was out there."

"Well, who did you see in the hallway that morning?"

"Professor Cape, but she was coming from the other way so it couldn't have been her. Bedorven but he wouldn't know the spell he never pays enough attention in class and those sorts of spells are in the restricted section. Malfoy! It had to be him! He was coming from that way and he's the sort who'd know those sorts of spells."

"Ron! Why would Draco want to hurt you?"

"I don't know. I knew he was evil, coming to our side my arse! I bet he's just following daddy's orders like at school!"

"Ron grow up! You and I both know Draco would never do anything like that! He's killed more death eaters than all of us put together. And what possible use would it be to do something to your broom!"

"I don't know do I, I'm not in tune with the mind of the evil guy am I?"

"Ron stop being so bloody stupid!" Hermione yelled, loosing her patience.

"Why are you so quick to defend him?"

"Well, why are you so quick to accuse him?"

"You like him don't you? Was there something going on between you? I don't believe you Hermione! How could you be with someone like Malfoy!"

"Oh my god Ron! How could you even suggest that! No there is bloody well not anything going on between Malfoy and I. Why am I even explaining myself to you?

God! Ron I don't believe you! But then you always have come up with stupid suggestions when you get so bloody fucking angry!" Hermione yelled jumped off the bed.

"Where are you going?" Ron called after her.

"Away from you. I need time to think."

Hermione fumed for the rest of the evening while helping the charms teacher figure out exactly what spell had been put upon Ron's broom. The broom, however, was still somehow intact as, as soon as Ron had fell from it, it had floated slowly to the ground and stopped.

After about an hour's work they finally figured it out. It was a spell that was well above any level any of the students, even the brightest, would ever get to in their time at Hogwarts. Meaning it could only have been one of the teachers.

That, of course didn't look good. Hermione walked to find Dumbledore to tell him what had happened. She said the password and stepped up onto the stairs that ended at his office door. She knocked and walked in.

"Ah, Hermione dear, please do come in." Dumbledore greeted her warmly.

"Good evening Headmaster." Hermione said as she took a seat in front of his desk. "We found out what the spell was. It's called the _asesino_ spell. It's used to kill people on brooms by throwing them off at great force. Ron was very lucky. But this means that it was a purposeful attack and that there may be someone in the school that is trying to hurt people. We suspect it is one of the teachers as the spell level is too high for any of the students."

"Very well. I shall look into it and ask some questions. Keep your eyes open and if anything else happens come to me immediately. Ok?"

"Of course Sir." Hermione nodded and left the room.

On her way to her classroom she bumped into Malfoy.

"Oh, hey Draco!" She smiled.

"Hey Hermione. Have you seen Ron yet?"

"Yeah only once and I'm not bloody going back!" She said in a harsh tone.

"What? Why? I thought you two were, like, together again."

"Oh we were. I'm just pissed off at something that he said."

"What was it?"

"Well I asked who he thought had done it to him and he came to the stupid conclusion that you had."

"Why?"

"'Cuz he saw you in the entrance hall that morning and you know Ron just has to jump right on the first thought the comes to. But we have figured that it must be a teacher so I don't really know what to think."

"Well for the record I didn't do it." Draco smiled. "And I'm sure we'll find out who did soon. As long as they don't start on the students it shouldn't get too bad right?"

"I guess not. But it makes me feel a little uneasy. I mean we live here and we have a potential murderer with us. Not exactly a thought that makes you sleep easy is it?"

Harry, Ginny and Lily were all sat in Ron's hospital room talking quietly to him.

"So you guys seen Hermione yet?" Ron asked.

"No not just yet, we thought she'd be here." Harry answered. "I would have thought she wouldn't have left your side."

"Yeah." Ginny agreed, and then narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What did you say to her?"

"What? I can't believe you could come to such a conclusion that it's my fault that she's not here!" Ron exclaimed, very shocked. He looked at the cynical faces starring back at him a sighed. "Ok, I blamed Malfoy for doing this and then when she stood up for him I accused here of sleeping with him."

"Ron you are probably the most stupid male I have ever met!" Ginny sighed. "You really should think before you open your mouth."

"Yeah I know, but I just can't help it."

"You need to apologise you know."

"Well, I would if I could go and see her or she came here."

"Fine, hold on then." Ginny said getting up and placing Lily on Harry's lap.

A few minutes later she came back in dragging Hermione behind her.

"Right Herms, Ron has something he wants to say to you. We'll just leave you alone for a while." She grabbed Harry's arm and the family left. Hermione stood looking expectantly at Ron.

"Hermione. I'm sorry that I pissed you off by accusing Malfoy for being the one who did this." Ron quickly rushed out in one breath. Hermione just stood waiting for more. Ron however stayed silent.

"And?" she prompted.

"What?" He asked looking puzzled.

"I'm not annoyed about that Ron I'm annoyed about the fact that you accused me of being with him. And even if I had it was none of your business. You weren't here I could be with whoever I wanted. I'm sure you were with other people when you were away."

"Well I can't help it if I get jealous. Just like you can't help it by not committing yourself because you're scared I may leave again. Which I'm not going to."

"What? When have I ever said that?"

"Well it's pretty obvious. If you had committed yourself you would have come to try and work things out with me when we had an argument."

"Well, what are we going to do? Everything always seem to end in an argument with us, doesn't it?" Hermione sighed, deciding, for the sake of her sanity, to ignore his last comment.

"Marry me." Ron said suddenly.

"What?"

"Marry me." He repeated.

"Why?" Hermione asked, completely baffled.

"Well it'd solve all our problems. I wouldn't be jealous and you would know I'd stay."

"No Ron, it would make everything worse. You'd be more jealous and I'd still worry that you'd leave. I'm not going to marry someone just because it'll stop us fighting! Merlin! Did you really think that one would work? I want to get married because I'm in love ok? God, you are so stupid." She shouted before turning on her heel and quickly leaving the room.

Harry, Ginny and Lily walked back in.

"What did you do now?" Ginny asked, shaking her head.


	14. Fired

**Chapter 14 – Fired

* * *

**

**Disclaimer – **Je ne possède pas Harry Potter.I do not own Harry Potter)

Shout outs to –

**D-daygirl,  
****Bhekie – **is that a good sigh or a bad sigh?

**A/N – **Thanks to my beta reader Tracey.

* * *

"You do realise that the only reason you're both still mad is because you have feelings for each other, right?" Ginny asked, flipping through a textbook on Hermione's bed. 

"What? That's stupid." Hermione snorted in reply.

"But it's true. If you didn't like him you wouldn't care if he left again or not and he wouldn't care if you were with some other guy."

"But Gin, he's just so- I don't know. But if he sees marriage as something to solve a few problems then it's not going to work is it?"

"You know he didn't mean it like that. Ron's never been good at timing and feelings. Once he gets an idea he thinks it's amazing and can't see the blatantly obvious problems."

"Yeah I know." Hermione sighed.

"So go see him. Try and work this out, you could be like you used to again."

"The thing is I don't want to be like that again. It was all so routine and boring. I want the spark back, some romance and spontaneity. You know?"

"Yeah." Ginny sighed "Well Harry's talking to Ron so I'll go see how he's doing. We'll get to the bottom of this one. Even if you don't end up together, which you should because you two are totally in love, you should still be friends. Ok?"

Hermione nodded and Ginny left.

"The only reason you two are fighting is 'cuz you still really want each other. You are aware of that, right?" Harry said to Ron.

"Yeah, sure." Was Ron's sarcastic reply.

"No really, it's sexual tension and all that. Why else would you flip if you thought she was off shagging some other guy? And why would she be so scared of you leaving again?"

"Well if she still likes me why'd she turn me down?" Ron asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Because she wants romance and proposing in the middle of an argument really isn't the best idea." Harry explained.

"Romance huh? I can do that." Ron said looking thoughtful.

Harry and Ginny were walking to the Gryffindor common room to pick up Lily, who had been playing with James.

"So what'd you find out?" Ginny asked.

"Ron totally loves her and was very truthful when he asked her to marry him. Unfortunately he saw no problem with how he did it so we'll need to give him a few pointers on romance I guess. What about you?" Harry replied.

"Well Hermione's still got the whole fear of Ron just up and leaving her again. I guess if he did something to prove he'll be here forever then she'll get over that. But mainly she just needs an apology. A proper one this time."

"Think we can do this one?" Harry asked.

"Oh yeah easy. I got Draco and Lavender together so this'll be a walk in the park."

"I'll agree when I see it." Harry joked.

"Oh you of little faith." Ginny laughed and hit his shoulder. "Anyway lets not think of them now, time to go home." She said and kissed her husband before walking through the portrait of the fat lady to collect her daughter and say goodbye to her son.

A week later Ginny was sat on Ron's bed getting very frustrated.

"NO! If you do that she'll probably kill you. Think romantic, and that's not food from the kitchens and watching you coach a Quidditch game so stop saying it!" she yelled at her brother.

"Erm, I'll take her into Hogsmade and go to that new restaurant that just opened up, The Mystic, then I'll apologise properly."

"Good! That's a start." Ginny smiled; glad she'd finally got somewhere. "So what about convincing her you're staying for good?"

"Erm. Well last time I was just renting a flat so I suppose that was easy to just leave. I know! I could buy a house! I hardly spent anything while I was away so I've got quite a bit saved now. I could buy a place, nothing too big but something nearby then I'll have things to stay for. Roots and all that."

"See, when you put you're mind to things you're less of an idiot! Well done." Ginny said and hugged her brother.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I know you're mad at me and I'm truly sorry. I wasn't thinking right. Please let me make it up to you by taking you to dinner at The Mystic on Saturday night. I'll wait for you in the Entrance Hall at seven. If you're not there by half past I'll know you're not coming. Once again I'm truly sorry._

_Your Friend,_

_Ron._

Hermione put down the letter and sat at her desk. She smiled to herself before going over to her wardrobe. Saturday was only three days away. How would she find something to wear in time?

It was Saturday evening, quarter past seven and Hermione was just putting the finishing touches to her make-up. There was a knock at her door and she rushed to answer it thinking it was Ron tired of waiting. But when she opened it she found it was Michael.

"Oh, Michael, it's you." She said very obviously disappointed.

"Yes Professor. I have a problem I was hoping I could talk to you about it?" He asked.

"Well the thing is I'm very bust right now." She said, ignoring his pleading eyes and troubled face. "Maybe we could talk on Monday ok? Or if it's very important go and talk to your Head of House or the Headmaster ok?" She looked at the clock again and grabbed her coat. "Must dash I'm late. I'll see you on Monday."

She rushed past him and down to the Entrance Hall where Ron was still waiting.

"I'm so sorry I'm late some, student came to talk to me." She said breathlessly.

"It's ok." Ron smiled. "You're here now. Shall we go?"

After Ron had paid the bill at the restaurant they went for a walk through

Hogsmade Village. Suddenly Ron stopped outside one of the cottages.

"What do you think?" He asked her.

"It's nice." Hermione said looking and feeling very confused.

"That's good then. I brought it yesterday."

"What? Why?"

"Well I needed some way of proving I was staying right. So I though if I brought a house it may help convince you. Want to look inside?" he asked with a grin.

They looked around before walking back to the castle. Hermione had never felt happier.

When they got to her door Ron lent forward and gave her a quick kiss goodnight before turning to walk away. Hermione however had other ideas. She grabbed his hand and pulled him back to her, wrapping her arms around him she kissed him passionately. Ron was quick to respond to this and wrapped his arms round her waist. Hermione reached behind her, fumbled for the doorknob before finally finding it, opening the door and allowing herself and Ron to tumble into her room. Very quickly clothes were discarded and they were in bed.

The next morning Hermione woke up and stretched out her arms and legs smiling when her foot came in contact with Ron's bare flesh. She rolled over and snuggled up to his warm body. He also woke up and looked down at her before wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head.

"Well, that was truly amazing." He said with a smile and she grinned back.

"Well, well, well, this is the second time I've caught you and Mr Weasly doing something unsavoury in your room Miss Granger. Now last time I gave you a warning." Came the voice of Professor Cape from the open doorway. "This time I'm afraid to say you're fired."


	15. Staying

**Chapter 15 – Staying**

* * *

Disclaimer – I think by now you get the point, I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N – I've felt that the last few chapters have been pretty boring so sorry about that. I'm going to speed it up though so the end isn't too far away.

Shout outs to –

**Mental357,  
****D-daygirl,  
****Bhekie,  
****Harry kid

* * *

**

"What?" Hermione shouted. "You can't do that! That's not fair."

"Life isn't fair Miss Granger. Deal with it. Now get dressed, both of you, and come to the Headmasters office."

Both of them did as they were told and went along to Dumbledore's office. Cape was already there talking to Dumbledore.

"Ah, here they are Headmaster. Come and sit you two." Cape said and Hermione and Ron did so.

"So what's this all about?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'm afraid that I've just fired Miss Granger. She completely ignored my last warning so now I'm faced with no choice." Cape explained trying to keep the smirk from her face.

"I see, well that's an awful shame." Dumbledore said.

"But sir! She's got nowhere to go! She moved out of her house when she got the job." Ron pleaded.

"Very well. Hermione seeing as no replacement will be needed, Professor Cape will be doing that, there is still a room spare. You may stay at Hogwarts for as long as you like." Dumbledore smiled warmly.

"Thank you so much Headmaster." Hermione said as she and Ron left, shooting Cape a dirty look as they walked through the door.

* * *

"God, I'm so sorry Hermione." Ron said as soon as they were outside. "This is all my fault." 

"Oh, don't be silly it's fine. At least I've still got quite a while before term finishes. I'll be able to find a place to stay for then hopefully."

"Stay with me!" Ron said suddenly.

"What? I couldn't."

"Sure you could! It's got two rooms so you could have your own if that's what you're worried about. Seriously I'll be moving in at the end of term and you could come with me. It's near Ginny and Harry so you won't be alone when I come back here and you can find working the village. They're always looking for people. Think about it at least." Ron pleaded.

"I don't need to. Ron I'd love to move in with you."

"Really?"

"Really!" She squealed as he lifted her from the ground and twirled her round in a hug.

* * *

Monday break time rolled around and Michael made his way to the Transfiguration teacher's classroom. He knocked on the door and it was opened. 

"Michael. What can I do for you?" Cape asked.

"Whe-where's

Professor Granger?" he stuttered through shock

"Oh, she was fired."

"But I need to talk to her."

"Well, you could talk to me?" She suggested with an evil grin.

"No! I need to talk to Professor Granger."

"Not keeping secrets now, are we my boy?"

"N-no o-of course n-not." He said slowly backing away.

"Well good because I hate secrets. Off you go then." She snapped and Michael happily obliged by running off.

Hermione was sat with Ron, Harry, Draco and Neville by the lake eating lunch.

"I can't believe she was allowed to do that! It's not fair." Neville said after

Ron had finished telling the story of how Hermione had been fired.

"Well Ginny will be happy." Harry said, "She's been waiting for you two to get together since Ron came back. Looks like she'll have to find someone else to pair up now though."

"At least it wasn't a big scene like with Umbridge when she fired that coot

Tralwney. That was just plain embarrassing." Draco said reaching for another sandwich.

Hermione smiled and snuggled up to Ron who wrapped an arm around her. "What time have you guys got to go to lessons?"

"I've got classes until dinner when the bell goes. No break for me." Neville said, ending with a dramatic sigh.

"Yeah, me too." Draco said pulling a face. "Got the first years next. Some of them really are hopeless."

"I've got a free afternoon." Ron said happily, ignoring the death glares from

Draco and Neville.

"Well, can I hang out with you?" Hermione asked Ron who suddenly looked worried.

"Erm no, you can't I've g-got something to do. You can't come, sorry."

"Oh, what is it!" Hermione asked rolling over so she could see him.

"Nothing interesting, you'd be bored really." Ron said lying terribly and shooting Harry a pleading look.

"Hey, Ginny should be home when I get back, come with me and you two could go shopping." Harry said to distract Hermione.

"Sure." She smiled happily before giving Ron a suspicious look. He just looked down at his sandwich and pretended not to notice.

After saying goodbye to everyone Harry and Hermione walked down to Hogsmade and to Harry and Ginny's house.

* * *

Ginny instantly grabbed a coat and dragged Hermione into the town to shop. "Even if he is my brother I want all the details. Well maybe not all, you can miss out the full account of what happened in the bedroom, that I don't want to think about. But anyway, spill!" she said excitedly. 

"Well it was so great! We went to the Mystic, it is so nice in there, and the food was great! We talked all through the meal and it was like getting to know him again. He was telling me all about his lessons and all his new ideas and stuff. It was so sweet and we didn't even argue once!" Hermione babbled happily,

"Then we went for a walk and he just stopped suddenly. I didn't know why I though something was wrong. But he just asked me what I thought of the house he was looking at. I hadn't a clue what he was on about so I just said 'yeah it's nice' and then he's like 'I brought it yesterday!' and it's such a nice house!"

They paused for a moment as they looked at a rack of clothes that was nearby before continuing with the girl talk.

"So what about yesterday when you were fired?" Ginny asked holding a top up to her self and looking in the mirror.

"Well, Dumbledore said I could stay at Hogwarts which is good as otherwise I'd be out on the streets. But when we left the office Ron asked me to move in with him!" Hermione said and she and Ginny both let out a squeal of delight.

* * *

Ron on the other hand was having quite a stressful time. He was on the Quidditch pitch with three of Hogwarts four Quidditch teams. Slytherin, of course, had flatly refused to take part in his plan. This one had been the one he hadn't told Hermione about over dinner. Which was a shame seeing as it was his best one yet. But she'd find out soon enough. 

He watched as they ran through what he'd told them to do once more. Getting it completely wrong again he let out a moan and hit his forehead. This was never going to work.

"Ok guys, come back down here!" he yelled and they all landed around him. "Ok this is very important to me ok? It must be right. Ok split into your groups and practise on the ground, then we'll try one at a time to see if you can do it."

They all went off into their groups of about five or six.

Finally two hours later they were getting it. The routine looked like it should and with a little more practise Ron thought it would be great.

"Ok guys, off you go. Thanks! Five house points for each of you!" he called after them.

* * *

Two dark figures stood in the shadows of the forest in deep conversation. 

"Well, that's ruined our plans!" one said with venom.

"No she's still staying until the holidays. We still have plenty of time."

"And the body? Is it safe?"

"Of course it is. No one will find it for a million years and by that time there'll only be dust." The other laughed.

"What of the boy?"

"He's yet to see sense, but he poses no threat. He'll be easy to get rid of if it comes to that."

* * *


	16. Dead

**Chapter 16 – Dead**

* * *

Disclaimer – Still don't get it? I don't own Harry Potter.

Shout outs to –

**Lily MaLfOy13,  
****D-daygirl,  
****Mental357**

**A/N:** Thank you Tracey, my beta reader.  
This one is insultingly short I know, but I wanted to end it whereit did, so sorry everyone.

* * *

A man and a woman were walking down a dusty street. They were on their honeymoon in Egypt. Their fingers intertwined they stopped and kissed. The woman wrapped her arms around her husband and ran her fingers through his hair. They started walking backwards until they were lying down on a grassy bank. They were too wrapped up in one another to see the dip. They didn't realise until too late that they were falling.

With a scream and a thud they hit the bottom and found that they were in some sort of underground cave. The man got up and helped his wife to her feet asking if she was ok and holding her in his arms. After a few minutes they broke apart and started to look around. There were two passageways so they split up and each went down one.

The woman continued to walk through the darkness until she finally reached a dead end. She felt around the wall to make sure there was no way of getting through until she found quite a big hole at the bottom. After a moments or so hesitation she reached into it. Her hand came into contact with something and she flinched before reaching in again and pulling it out. As her eyes adjusted in the darkness she was able to make out what she was holding. She dropped it and screamed, running very quickly away from the spot.

-

Two hours later they had found a way out, contacted the police and were now speaking to an officer about what they had found. An ambulance arrived and a team of medics went into the cave and brought the body up on a stretcher. The smell was the first thing the hit them. The rotting and decaying flesh smelt so strongly it made one person gag. The body was placed in a body bag and into the ambulance to be taken to the hospital.

-

The forensics lab in England had received the body early that morning. It had been sent over so it could be properly examined in one of the leading labs. Now had come to the time when the body was to be looked at. The two doctors came in and walked over to the table where the body was lay. The clothes were too decayed to tell what she had been wearing and no possessions were found upon her. They then turned their attention to identifying her, finding the time of death and the cause.

About an hour later all was done. The research lab had just sent back the details from the dental records. Finally they had the name to the body that they couldn't find a cause of death for: Pamela Cape.

-

Back at Hogwarts Hermione and Ron were sat out in the grounds together when they saw Fudge hurrying up the path to the castle. They quickly followed to find out what was going on.

"What's happening?" Ron asked Fudge as they all came to a stop outside Dumbledore's office. He didn't get an answer as Fudge had already started to climb the stairs. Hermione grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him after her. They got to the top of the stairs just as Dumbledore was opening the door.

"Mr Fudge, how may I help you?" Dumbledore asked as Fudge sat down.

"There seems to be a huge problem with a staff member Headmaster."

"And who my that be?"

"Professor Cape. It seems that the Ministry didn't do a thorough background check on her before she came. The person that you have in your school is not the woman she says she is."

"Miss Granger, Mr Weasly, please go and get the Professor and bring her here. Be on guard, she may be dangerous." Dumbledore instructed and Hermione and Ron left the room.

"So who do you think she is?" Hermione asked as they walked towards her room.

"I don't know but I bet it's not going to end with hugs and kisses now is it?" Ron sighed as he knocked on the wooden door to the Professor's study. "Not there. I say we look."

"Ron we mustn't!" Hermione gasped as he walked in.

"Why? This way we may know if she's dangerous or not before we bump into her." Ron said as he pulled open the draws in her desk.

After a few minutes of rooting around they came across a small box that was sealed with may different spells and charms.

"Do your stuff Herms." Ron instructed as he handed it over to her. A further five minutes later all the spells were off and they could open it.

Inside there was a bunch of human hair tied with coarse string, a flask of Polyjuice potion and a piece of parchment. They opened it and read what was written:

_Capp, _

_The body has been successfully disposed of in a place that is hard to find. You must now add the hair included in this letter to the potion and then go to the Ministry in two days time. _

_We have news that Potter is also working at the school so it will be even easier than expected to lure him there. _

_But first you must see to getting Malfoy to join us. Take a while to get people to trust you and then make your move. Do it on the 29th June. _

_Contact us by owl once you have arrived at Hogwarts._

_Knox._

"Capp? As in the deatheater?" Ron asked hysterically.

"So now Voldemort's gone looks like they have a new leader." Hermione sighed. "Wait what's the date?"

"Erm. Oh Merlin! It's the 29th." Ron gasped.

"Come on." Hermione called as she ran from the room to Malfoy's study on the fourth floor, Ron quick on heel.

-

Pushing open the door with PROFFESOR MALFOY in shimmering writing like all the other teacher's rooms they came across a strange sight. Draco was pressed against the far corner of the room blood trickling from his nose with Capp's wand at his throat. At the noise of the door she turned to face Hermione and Ron.

"Ah, what a pleasant surprise! I was just showing Malfoy here the finer points of my job and now I get to show you too. How fun!" She laughed before turning her wand on them. A spell sent them crashing into the opposite wall and as Hermione slid to the floor everything turned black.


	17. Deatheater

**Chapter 17 – Deatheater**

* * *

Disclaimer – I still don't own Harry Potter

Shout outs go to:

**Feather,  
****Mental357,  
****D-daygirl,  
****Bhekie, **

* * *

Hermione lifted her head from her chest and looked around the room she was in.

Draco's office, she was tied to a chair with rough rope and Ron and Draco were on either side of her. Ron was still unconscious and Draco, although still awake, seemed pretty out of it.

Capp was nowhere to be seen. Hermione took in a gulp of air and winced as pain coursed through the sides. She could tell she had broken at least a couple of her ribs.

"Draco!" She hissed. "Draco are you ok?"

"Surviving." He muttered back "What about Weasly?"

"Ron." She corrected him before answering the question. "He's still out. Where did she go?"

"I don't know. She left a few minutes ago, she'll be back soon though."

"What are we going to do?" Hermione whispered as tears filled her eyes.

"I honestly do not know." Draco replied earnestly.

Sure enough, just seconds later they heard footsteps and Capp walked into the room.

"Ah, mudblood. You've finally joined us I see. And it looks like Weasly's coming round too." She said as Ron jolted awake and looked around.

"Now all we need to do is wait for Potter to join us and then I can get on with killing you. Now won't that be fun?" She laughed as she walked through another door.

Some time later, they were unsure how long it had been, the door opened and

Harry appeared from underneath his invisibility cloak.

"Harry, no! It's a trap! You have to get out of here right now. Professor Cape is really Capp, the Deatheater." Hermione hissed as Harry tried to undo her ropes.

"Don't be stupid, I'm going to get you out of here." Harry whispered back.

"I'm afraid, Mr Potter, that you are not." Came Capp's voice from where she was standing at the door that Harry had just come through. "You see now you've joined us you won't be able to leave. Well, not alive anyway." She laughed and pointed her wand at Harry; ropes shot out of the end and bound him up before he had the chance to send the counter spell.

"Why are you doing this?" Ron asked.

"Why? Because you killed our master, you stopped our great works from happening. We have only just been able to make plans and set about fulfilling them.

You set our work back for so many years." Capp snapped at him with fury.

"How did you know Harry would be here?" Draco wheezed.

"Well, I just happened to bump into his son on the way down here and just happened to let slip a few of my plans for the night so naturally he would go and tell daddy dear all about it."

"You won't get away with this. Dumbledore knows all about you and he'll be looking for us by now." Hermione spat back.

"Well, he won't be able to find us. This isn't Malfoy's office this is the Room of Requirement, you were in too much of a hurry to realise that the door to

Malfoy's office was too far down the staircase when you rushed up here to save the day. I require that Dumbledore won't find us so he won't. It's as simple as that." Capp laughed. "Now we're all here I guess we can get started."

She walked over to Hermione and grabbed her hair and pulled her to her feet.

"You first girl. I've got quite a role for you in all of this."

Hermione struggled as Capp roughly tied her to a post at the opposite end if the room to where Harry, Ron and Draco were all sat.

"What the hell are you doing? Get off me!" Hermione yelled as she tried to pull out of the Deatheater's grasp.

"Well you see last time we met you hurt me real bad. But the way you did it was so very interesting it got me thinking, would that be a nifty little skill to use to my power. So after many, many years of research I've finally got something to harness it."

Capp pulled out her wand and pointed it straight at Hermione's chest. She muttered an incantation and a blue mist shot out of her wand and swirled around Hermione. It formed a complete bubble around her before fading away.

"What have you done to me?" Hermione demanded as she struggled with the ropes.

"Temper, temper dear mudblood you wouldn't want another little outburst like you had last time I saw you, especially with a spell like this one on you."

"What spell? What have you done to her?" Ron shouted.

"I don't like being spoken to like that, in fact it makes me very, very angry.

So angry I may just have to hurt you. What do you think mudblood?" She asked

Hermione, "If I hurt your lover boy think you'll be very angry?"

She turned on Ron and shot a Crucio curse at him. Hermione watched as the man she loved went through so much pain and she felt hatred for Capp building up inside her.

Hermione felt the blackness of anger swell and the pain in her increase. She didn't have to look but she knew that her veins were darkening and her eyes growing black. Capp had just taken off the spell she had put upon Ron and had turned to face her again.

"Ah! Looks like it's almost time to blow Mudblood. I expect it will be extremely painful. Such a shame you won't be able to tell me how it feels." Capp shrugged and bared her yellowing teeth in what was supposed to be a smile but was a lot more like a grimace. The spell will act as a force field type thing so when your power comes out it will bounce back and the force will crush you to death."

Capp then turned to Draco. Her eyes narrowed into a glare and her mouth became even tighter.

"You." She spat. "The Dark Lord gave you so many chances to join our side, yet each time you turned us down. When we regrouped we thought now that your filthy little mudblood wife was out the way you'd have nothing stopping you. No. But you're just a disgrace to the Malfoy name aren't you my dear cousin? Well people like you deserve to die. There's no point you wasting your time in this world now is there?" Capp now had her wand pointed at him. "Now I could do this the quick way and it would be done. But I'm afraid I made a promise with your dear father before you went and so stupidly killed him. Now that was a waste of a perfectly good man. Anyway I promised him that if you continued with these silly little beliefs of yours I would make you pay. Now it wouldn't be a good pay back to give you a quick relatively painless death now would it? No. I want to hear you scream." With that she yelled a few spell words and sparks flew from her wand and the post Draco had been tied to burst into flames.

Draco screamed as the flames licked at his body the smoke billowing around him making him cough and splutter. His skin blistered quickly and just as he was close to giving up the flame was gone.

"Now this one I'm very proud of, I made it up all by myself." Again she said more words and this time cuts appeared all over Draco's skin blood soaked into his torn and charred robes and finally he passed out from the pain. Capp snorted and clicked her fingers, Draco's ropes vanished and he crashed to the floor.

Again her attention turned to Hermione, who was trying to repress the anger that was building up. It was hard tiring work and she was struggling.

"I wouldn't try to fight it; it will just be more painful in the end. Of course

I have no problem with that as long as I'm gone by that time but seeing as I was hoping to see what happens I strongly suggest you just let it go. I promised everyone I would tell them all about what happens, and as you can see," she motioned over to Draco's near dead body. "I've never broken a promise."

"Yes you have." Came a shaky voice from behind them "You promised you'd always love me." Capp whirled around to see Michael in the doorway holding a wand out in front of him.

"Michael! What are you doing here?" Capp spat.

"I'm here to help my friends." Michael replied but looked scared to death.

"Go back to your room this instant!"

"Wow, you know what that's the most like a mother you've ever sounded."

"Michael, if you want to live to see next year you will leave right now!"

"You'd really kill you're one and only son? Well I suppose someone like you would." Michael replied slowly gaining a little confidence but there was still a quiver in his voice.

"You should have joined me when you had the chance. What are you going to do now? Do you really think that you could beat me?" Capp sneered. "You may be my son but I have no problem killing you if you cross me."


	18. Michael

**Chapter 18 – Michael**

* * *

Disclaimer – Do I own Harry Potter? Nope not last time I checked.

Shout outs to –

**Mental357,  
****Morena-Forever  
****EponineWeasley,**  
**D-daygirl,

* * *

**

"M-Michael? What are you doing here?" Ron asked. "S-She's your mother?"

"Yes she is." Michael whispered as Capp backed him into a corner.

"Yes, yes and what a lovely reunion it's been. Now I really do need to get on with this so if you don't mind will you all SHUT THE HELL UP!" Capp roared. She shot the same spells at her son that she had used on Malfoy previously before leaving him hunched on the floor, unconscious, bleeding, dying.

Hermione was now feeling short of breath and panicky, and her whole body was shaking violently with the struggle she was having of trying to keep the force that was inside her from spilling out.

"You're not going to get away with this-" Harry started to say but Capp cut him off.

"Blah, blah, blah, yes I've heard it all before 'you won't get away with it, they'll catch you yeah, yeah, I'm sure they will." Capp sneered. "But the thing is even if they do my job will be done. You'll all be dead so it won't matter.

We will have gotten revenge and you, Potter, will finally be gone."

Capp was too busy laughing at Harry to notice the movement behind her. She didn't see Michael push himself up from the floor where he was lay and reach for his wand, which was on the floor just a few feet away from him.

He picked it up and very slowly raised his wand to point at his mother. Through dry, cracked lips he croaked "Avada Kedavra."

A green light flashed from the room and momentarily blinded them. Once their vision had returned to normal Capp's body was on the floor. Stiff, unmoving, dead. Michael, too, was on the floor, but only unconscious. The force of the spell had taken the last of his energy out of him.

With a crack the back of Harry's chair broke as he pushed it forcefully against the wall and he was able to stand up. He hands were still tied but her was able to move. He went over to where Ron was tied and with a lot of effort he was able to untie him.

Five minutes later the three boys were all untied and able to move about. Draco was still weak and was being supported between Harry and Ron.

"Harry, you take Malfoy. I'll untie Hermione and get Michael out of here." Ron said as he started to walk towards where Hermione was tied.

"NO!" She shouted. You mustn't cross the line! If you do you could be killed too!"

"Hermione, we must get out of here!" Ron protested.

"No Ron, you must get out of here. Even if I get out I've still got this spell upon me I'm dead anyway. Just go ok? I want you to be safe."

"Hermione I love you." Ron whispered as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"I love you too Ron. Now GO!" She shouted as she felt the pressure inside her grown even stronger. Her eyes and hair were now completely black and every vein in her body could be seen. The room started to shake at the force of the magic inside of her. "The room's going to collapse! Get out now!" Hermione shouted.

"No! I'm not going to leave you to die!" Harry shouted and ran towards

Hermione, Ron and Draco quick on tail. Harry and Ron both pulled out their wands to try to unbind the magical bonds that held her. They both sent spells at the ropes but each time a spell got close to where Hermione was tied a clear wall would appear around her and the spell would just bounce back, not reaching her.

"What are we going to do?" Ron asked.

"I can't hold on much longer!" Hermione called over the rumbling of the walls that were still shaking.

"Wait, the spell wasn't cast on Hermione it was cast around her. If we get close enough then we can untie her." Harry said "But if we are inside the wall when the magic blows then we'll be killed too."

"I don't care as long as I can help Hermione." Ron said through gritted teeth as he crossed the room to get to her.

"Ron no! Just leave me. I really can't hold on anymore. Go!" Hermione protested as he was untying her.

"Just one more minute Mione! Just hold on please. I love you way too much for you to die now."

Finally the ropes were untied and Ron and Hermione were able to cross the magical line that was around them.

"Come on, we need to get out!" Harry shouted. "Malfoy come on!"

They all turned to find Malfoy was carrying Michael to where they were stood. He was taking an agonisingly long time to get to them as he was in so much pain.

"Guys, it's too late I can't hold it in anymore just go!" Hermione urged as she pushed then towards the door.

Harry ran over and took Michael out of Draco's arms and pulled them towards the door where Ron was stood yanking it with all his might. But to no avail. It would not open.

"We're stuck. How do we get out now?" Ron yelled.

"Oh God!" Hermione moaned as she felt the magic push its way out of her "Everyone get down on the floor."

Blackness erupted out of her and filled the room with a deafening screech. The furniture in the room was smashed against the walls and smashed up into tiny pieces. The room was shaking even more and plaster started to crumble from the ceiling. Ron had gotten to his knees and was trying the door again.

The black and the noise finally died down and they were able to get up from the floor. With force from Harry and Ron they were able to open the door. Hermione stumbled out closely followed by Ron and Harry who was carrying Michael. Draco was close behind them but a chunk of the ceiling fell in and clipped him on his back.

They watched in horror as their friend was buried under a pile of rubble and stone.

"Draco!" Hermione screamed as the rocks covered him.

Footsteps sounded along the corridor and Dumbledore, Fudge and many other teachers joined them along with Leo and James.

"Dad!" James shouted and ran into his father's arms.

"W-Where's my dad?" Leo asked looking at the wreak.

No one answered but everyone looked at the rubble.

"Professor Longbottom please go and get some seventh years and all the Hospital Staff. Professor Stone please go and contact St Mungo's hospital and say that we will be sending them five patents very soon."

The two Professors rushed off and Dumbledore sent all the other teachers and students that had gathered around to see what was happening, away.

Harry and Ron were already digging through the rubble in order to find Draco, but making slow progress as they were in such pain. Hermione was sat with Michael who still hadn't woken up.

Ten seventh year students hurried down the corridor following Neville and the hospital staff. Harry and Ron stepped back and allowed them to take over while they were taken, along with Hermione and Michael to St Mungo's.


	19. Epilouge

**Epilogue**

* * *

Disclaimer: For the last time I don't own Harry Potter (last time, get it? becasue it's the last chapter! Not funny? NoI didn't think so either)

Shout outs to –

**Bhekie, (x2)  
****Morena-Forever,  
****Mental357,  
****suckr4romance81789,  
****EponineWeasley**

**A/N – **So it's finally over! I've left it at a place where I could do a sequel so if I get enough interest I probably will. But not until I've finished my other fan fic The Dark Lady as I have neglected that one a little recently. Huge thanks go to you all who have read and who have reviewed, without you I would have probably given up on this one. And to Tracey who has been my beta reader for this fic and has been great! So thank you everyone!

* * *

"Come on Leo, it's time to go." Hermione said as she walked into his room at the cottage. "Come on get dressed the car's here."

"I'm not going." He whispered.

"You have to go, if you don't you'll regret it." She said as she did his tie for him. "I cleaned your shoes for you, they're downstairs. I know you're scared but we're all here for you. If you don't go you will hate yourself for it." She wiped away a tear and walked from the room.

Leo joined them all downstairs a few minutes later. Hermione stood up and smoothed down her black skirt before checking that all three of the boys' ties were fixed straight before ushering them from the room and into the car that was waiting for them outside.

As the car pulled to a stop Hermione got out and held onto Leo's hand on one side and put her arm through Michael's on the other. They approached the building with a feeling of sad anticipation. Ron held open the door for them and they walked inside.

They all stood at the end of the room looking inside. No one spoke and no one moved.

"Come on you guys look like you're at a funeral!" Came the croaky voice from inside.

Hermione let out a chocked laugh and walked over to Draco's bedside, closely followed by the others.

"Dad!" Leo smiled as he hugged him.

"How are you my boy? Are they feeding you? Do you hate it? Having to see Potter that often must be terrible!" Draco joked.

"So, how are you?" Hermione asked.

"Surviving." Draco replied.

"No really, how are you?" She insisted.

"Doctors say that my ribs are almost healed, they've given me something to get rid of the bruises and most of the scars. Head injuries are better and the stitches are being taken out next week. Should be out in a month or so hopefully." Draco answered.

"So, lucky you! You'll be back to teach next year!" Ron laughed.

* * *

**TWO MONTHS LATER

* * *

**

Hermione followed Ron as he led her along the driveway up to the school. It was empty save for a few teachers, as the summer holidays had just begun.

"Ron what are we doing here? Where are we going?" She laughed as he took her hand and pulled her onto the Quidditch pitch.

"You'll see. Just wait." He replied.

They stopped in the middle of the pitch and Ron turned towards the changing rooms and whistled. Hermione watched as three out of the four school Quidditch teams walked onto the pitch. They were all dressed in white.

Wordlessly they got onto their brooms and pushed off into the air.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked as she turned towards Ron.

"Just watch." He laughed.

She watched as they all did a loop before they all flew together and formed a sentence.

"Oh my god!" Hermione squealed as she read what it said: WILL YOU MARRY ME?

Wordlessly she watched as the dot of the question mark flew towards them and passed Ron something before flying back into place.

Ron turned to face her before getting down on one knee and taking her hand.

"What do you say? Hermione Granger, I love you. Will you give me the greatest honour by allowing me to call you my wife?"

"Oh Ron, yes! Of course I will!" Hermione laughed he opened the box and slipped the diamond ring onto her left ring finger.

"I told you I was going to find something constructive to do with my time, now didn't I?" He laughed as he pulled his wife-to-be into a tight hug.

One hour later they were sat in Dumbledore's office.

"Well, first I suppose congratulations are in order. You are a very lucky man

Mr Weasly." Dumbledore said as he raised his glass to them both. "But let me get to the point. Hermione the post of Transfiguration teacher is open and I would love if you would come back and teach."

"Professor Dumbledore I would love to accept your very kind offer but I wonder if I would be able to start next year instead."

"Hermione I don't understand." Ron said looking confused.

"You see, the thing is, it would be quite hard to teach being pregnant and all." Hermione laughed.

"WHAT?" Ron asked rising from where he was sat. "Y-you-you're pregnant?"

"Yes Ron I am. Headmaster if the post is still open I would love to come back in a year or so once I have had mine and Ron's child."

"Miss Granger, I can think of no better plan." Dumbledore smiled warmly as the couple before him embraced.


End file.
